Propagating Water Snowflake (Nymphoides hydrophylla 'Taiwan')

How to propagate water snowflake by adventitious daughter plantlets at leaf junctions and rhizome division. A root-feeding floating-heart with surface pads.

Overview

Nymphoides hydrophylla, the crested floating-heart, is an aquatic plant of the family Menyanthaceae native to Taiwan. It bears cordate floating leaves on long petioles that support a lax inflorescence of dainty white flowers with fringed petal margins. In the aquarium it is an easy, fast-growing rosette plant that can reach 15-30 cm or more, sending leaves up to float as pads at the surface, and it feeds heavily through its roots.

Propagation Method

The main propagation route is adventitious daughter plantlets. With enough light and nutrients the plant forms a new small plantlet at the leaf/stem junction once a leaf reaches the surface — buds appear about an inch down the petiole, growing new leaves and roots. Tropica notes that the new plant grows from the plates of old leaves. You can also divide the rhizome to create separate rooted plants.

Step-by-Step

Let leaves grow up to float at the surface and watch for buds forming on the petiole below a floating leaf.
Allow each plantlet to develop its own small leaves and roots before separation.
Pinch or cut the plantlet free from the parent petiole once it has a few roots.
Plant the rooted plantlet into nutrient-rich substrate, weighting it down until anchored.
To divide the rhizome, lift the parent, cut the rhizome into rooted sections, and replant each piece.
Ensure strong light and good fertilization so detached plantlets establish quickly.

Conditions for Healthy Growth

Tropica rates it easy to care for, with low light demand and a medium CO2 benefit of about 6-14 mg/L. It prefers warm freshwater of roughly 22-28 degrees Celsius, a pH from about 6 to 7.5, and soft to moderately hard water. A nutrient-rich substrate and substantial fertilization keep the lime-green leaves healthy and drive plantlet production.

Maintenance

It is fast-growing, so thin it regularly — remove the oldest leaves and surface leaves to prevent overcrowding and shading. Harvest mature daughter plantlets to keep the rosette open and to build up new stock. Watch calcium and mineral levels, since deficiency causes problems; a remineralizer such as Seachem Equilibrium dosed with water changes helps.