All plants that can live in water?

I have a pothos that's been in a very nice water container for almost 5 years, and I think I'd like to add to it, and maybe add a couple more containers. So, can we make a list of all plants that can live in water? I know about these so far:

Pothos
Spider
Wandering Jew

good-luck plants - are those dracaenas? Can all varieties live in water?

(philodendron) ??

Others?

I have philodendron (don't remember the variety) that's been in water for 10 years and thrives there.

Sweet potatoes, as I just learned from another thread. :)

Thank you - I would never have thought about sweet potatoes - I've got to try that at least once. That would be cute for the grandkids too.

add: Swedish ivy, philodendron, wandering Jew, bog plants such as dwarf papyrus and umbrella palm, orchids, bromeliads, pony tail palm, dracaenas, palms, peace lily, alocasia, ficus, many bulbs such as paperwhites, amaryliss, crocus and hyacinths, yucca, ferns, anthurium, streptocarpus, croton, segos, Musa, and even cacti

On hydroculture:
Virtually any plant can be taken from its dirt-filled pot and placed in a hydroculture environment. The only difference for the plant is that it will then receive nutrients through the water instead of through the soil. Once a plant is grown in water, however, it can never go back to being grown in soil. Another tip: The younger the plant, the more easily it will adapt to hydroculture.

Very popular in Europe especially the UK, France, and Germany from what i read...

Caron,

I once read that a plant has to grow a different kind of root system for water than for soil. If you can transplant a soil-living plant into water, why can't you do it the other way as well?

Lori

I've never heard of this. Hydroculture. I have a pond, and have many bog plants, some of which are listed here. But I never knew you could grow pothos or some of these other common houseplants in water. Does anyone have a pic of their water container? Simply facinating. :o)

Jenny

I grow the following in water sometimes trying to root them and then I forget to pot them up:-).
I put perlite and charcoal in most of mine it helps keep the water fresh and gives the roots something to hang onto.

Peace Lily
begonia's
syngoniums
african violets

I won't try a bromelaid or an orchid , think those are epiphytes.

MsC

Lori, I've grown plants in water and then transplanted them into soil with great success (usually when I've rooted them in water and then left them there for a long time...). From my understanding the roots form differently, but they can change. I water extra during the transition after I plant into dirt. I've also heard of putting perlite in the water and then adding soil gradually, but I haven't tried it. (MsC, didn't you post about this once?)

Jenny, I don't have any going right now except for a spider baby and an African Violet leaf in a Mexican shot glass-- I think it looks neat. I've seen a lot of people put pothos cuttings in regular vases.

Yes, orchids and bromeliads are definitely epiphytes. (I learned that in a biology class before going to the Ecuadorian Amazon to see them in the wild-- it's what got me into houseplants!) Hmm, but now I wonder what would happen...?

Cyperus alternifolius likes a lot of water. To propogate this plant you just cut a leaf and put it upside down in water and the little plants develop. I don't know why more people don't keep this as a houseplant. It does quite well in the house.

Here is a picture of it in a pond.
http://biotech.tipo.gov.tw/plantjpg/1/Cyperus%20alternifolius-1.jpg

Has anyone grown Dieffenbachia in water? I've heard of that, too, but haven't tried it.

grikdog, this is my cat's very favorite plant to chew on. I even brought his raggedy-ass plant with us when I moved. I'm not quite sure what you're saying for propogation. A leaf? or the whole "umbrella?" If it's the whole head does it have to have seeds on it? I'd love to have one in the house for Lionel so he'd quit begging to go out all the time. Half the time all he wants is to sit and gnaw on his plant.

danak,
Yes, I do use charcoal & perlite in my water cultures.
We were talking about it on the AV forum because some folks don't have luck getting them transfered over to dirt. I start adding a little more potting soil each time I water after i see a nice group of roots forming. I don't have any trouble usually ...my trouble comes remembering not to over water them after wards...lol

I didn't know you could root AV in water. Neat. I've rooted them in soil before. I root several things in water...but never heard of actually *growing* houseplants in water. I guess when I think of water plants, I think of my pond...not houseplants. Although, I do have a sweet potato vine floating in my pond. :O)

Jenny

stellapathic --yes you are right my cats graze on mine too.

By leaf I meant the entire umbrella. It doesn't have to have any seeds on it. Just stick the umbrella upside down in a glass of water and put it so it gets some some light. You will get little plants growing up. Wait until they grow some roots and then you should be able to detach them gently from the old umbrella. It is very cool.

I've left this message on a variety of other forums and/or gardening sites as questions about rooting in water are common:

Though roots form readily and often seemingly more quickly on many plants propagated in water, the roots produced are quite different from those produced in a soil-like or highly aerated medium (perlite - vermiculite - seed starting mix, e.g.). Physiologically, you will find these roots to be much more brittle than normal roots due to a much higher % of aerenchyma (a tissue with a greater percentage of inter-cellular air spaces than normal parenchyma). If you want to eventually plant your rooted cuttings in soil, it is probably not best to root them in water because of the frequent difficulty in transplanting them to soil. The "water roots" often break during transplant & those that don't break are very poor at water absorption and often die. The effect is equivalent to starting the cutting process over again.
If you do a side by side comparison of cuttings rooted in water & cuttings rooted in soil, the cuttings in soil will always (for an extremely high % of plants) have a leg up in development on those moved from water to a soil medium for the reasons outlined above.

Al

Very interesting Al. Some things I root in water, and some in soil......but I've never done a side by side comparison. Neat. :O) Thanks. Jenny

grikdog, thanks, I'll be doing that tomorrow! I love the plant and since moving to a new house with lots of space for houseplants, need something interesting. Perfect.

Thanks AL that's great info!

Jenny,
Yes, AV's are amazing lil plants!
AV's will root almost anywhere...under the right conditions. They detest cold water and very high heat. Other than that rooting AV's in water is great fun.
I like to watch the babies form and while Al's information IS technically correct, I'm glad to say my AV's rooted in water seem to do fine for whatever reason.Probable like AL says they just start over re rooting after I'm done watching the babies grow or maybe it's the AV fairy. I just know how much fun they are to grow.


MsC

This message was edited Aug 18, 2005 12:14 AM