How to grow and decorate with bunch plants (with pictures)

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Anacharis comes in bunches often weighted with a strip of "lead"
at the bottom. Split the strands up and plant two inches apart. Anacharis
grows a weak root system and never flowers.

Kathy Findlay, June 14, 2006
Just a quick note to let you know I am enjoying browsing your site. But one thing, the anacharis in my pond has grown flowers many times: they are small white round-petaled flowers that shoot up to the surface on small stems. If they bloom again this year, I will attempt a pic and try to send it to you! Additionally, I had the same anacharis in my pond for 3 years without adding or replacing it. I simply took it out in the spring and pinched off any soft bottoms, then tossed it back in. Last fall I had a nasty hair algae infestation, and I think it must have sucked all the nutrients away from the anacharis, because I had to replace it this year. So hopefully this batch will bloom as well. This is from your bunched plants page:

Anacharis comes in bunches often weighted with a strip of "lead"
at the bottom. Split the strands up and plant two inches apart. Anacharis
grows a weak root system and never flowers.

A: Anacharis grows wild in Iowa. I've scuba-dived several lakes (mostly gravel pits) and never seen it flower. However, it sounds like it does manage to flower. Thanks for the info. I'll add it to the page. LA

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Anacharis grows fastest floating at the top where it gets more light -- not jammed
up like this where it barely survives. Biology teachers love it (they call it elodea)
because they can see its cells at work under a microscope. Anacharis grows wild
in Iowa in many ponds.

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Single stem of Cabomba. The fan-shaped "leaves" make a very attractive
plant in your tank. Cabomba prefers clean water and good light.

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Cabomba looks best when planted in patches -- each stem at least two inches
from its neighbors. This gives it room to "fan out." Put shorter stems in front for
a natural look. Avoid planting in rows. Or use it behind rocks or wood to
"frame" your focal point. Keep it out of dark corners. Cabomba grows wild
in our southern states. We've seen it in Alabama creeks.

Dr. Jud Newborn, Plainview, LI, NY, December 16, 2007
I've found your website wonderfully lively and informative. But I must ask you to warn everyone NEVER to dump their tanks or plants into local ponds, lakes and streams -- especially the non-native, unbelievably invasive Cabomba.
In fact it'd be far better for all dealers NOT TO SELL Cabomba at all, but offer native hornwort instead. Some of Long Island's most pristine ponds and streams are now almost solid Cabomba. They simply cannot get rid of it. NOTHING WORKS. (Google this.) It reproduces from the tiniest fragments. One lake was dredged of Cabomba -- and 6 weeks later it was full again! So
please -- if you love ponds, native plants and fish, banish Cabomba forever. And if you're going to dump it, dump it in the GARBAGE, not in a pond! Thank you!

A: I googled cabomba + "Long Island" and it sounds like cabomba is very close to taking over. Our local carp would clear it out quick. Unfortunately, then you have to get rid of the carp. At least they're edible. I'm adding your warning to my cabomba page, but it sounds like we're maybe a couple decades late. LA
PS: It is pretty.
PPS: Here we have lakes that get choked with hornwort.

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Ambulia resembles cabomba but is not seen as often. Unruly specimens
like this "straighten out" after a few days. Ambulia grows around the stem
rather than in "branches" growing from the stem. Both accumulate trash
floating in the water. Good filtration helps a lot. Vary your stem heights
for the most natural look.

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Rippling water makes an ideal hygrophila environment. You will need to
trim back your green hygrophila quite often. Tops of hygrophila shade
the lower leaves and cause them to fall off. You need to fertilize this
fast-growing plant for best results. Good plant for new aquarists.

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Sunset hygrophila provides a different color contrast. Sunset hygro does
not grow nearly as easily as green hygrophila. It takes more light. Both
grow faster unplanted and floating at the top -- where they get more light.

LA
Most of sunset hygro's leaves are really green. The "sunset" colors are
found mostly at the top. Fertilize it for best results.

LA
Mexican oak leaf, Shinnersia or Trichoronis rivularis, unknown to me. Appears to grow about the same as green hygrophila.

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Rotala indica looks like a hygro with tiny leaves. Some of the rotalas have
reddish leaves. These require much more light. Get that bottom weight off.
The stems disintegrate from that "tourniquet" in about a week. Strip the leaves
from the part of the stem you push into your gravel. It roots quickly. Rotala
needs more light than most plants. Not a beginner plant.