Do we need soil ...?

Fascinating discovery! About 30 seedlings I collected were sitting in the plastic bag half-filled with tap water and placed in the bucket. They were sitting in there for more than a week. I was about to change the water in the plastic bag and Wow! Roots! They were so cool.

Ingredients to allow roots to grow without any soil:
water, plastic bag (seedlings must be in the water at upright position)

Strange but true. I have no idea why. To get the roots out, the seedlings must be in the upright position. I have put seedlings in a huge bucket half-filled with water and the seedlings were horizontal position for 2-3 weeks; no roots.

Rhizophora apiculata sp. (bakau minyak) with their roots.


From left: Rhizophora mucronata sp (Bakau kurap); Center: Rhizophora apiculata sp (Bakau minyak); Right most: 15-cm ruler. Compare the length of these two different species but same family.


Average length of the root after more than a week is about 1cm.

In future posting, I will show you where the shoot of the young seedlings come from.