PURPOSE

-  To promote the keeping and propagation of aquatic plants by ACLC members. 

-  To keep record of each participant’s accomplishments and provide awards to encourage participation in the program

-  To gather and disseminate information about aquatic plants, their cultivation, and  propagation methods.

DEFINITION

- An aquatic plant is a plant which can be grown fully submersed or emersed (roots in water only) for the length of its entire life cycle. An aquatic plant must be able to grow through periods of being fully submerged. Exceptions to this rule are aquatic plants that normally have emergent leaves (i.e. water hyacinth, Nymphaea lilies, water cabbage, duckweed, etc.).  Plants that may grow emersed with their roots growing in the water but cannot grow fully submerged will not be accepted (i.e. lucky bamboo, peace lilies, mondo grass, etc.).

HAP COMMITTEE

-               The committee is responsible for the review of the ongoing program, assigning proper credit, and maintaining records of all members. All aspects of the program are subject to review by the HAP Committee, subject to Board approval.

-               The HAP committee will maintain records for individual members listing all species cultivated, flowered, or grown by seed; articles submitted, and points awarded.  A roster will be presented in Tank Tales on a regular basis. It is the horticulturist’s responsibility to ensure that they receive the proper credit for their accomplishments.

RULES AND REQUIREMENTS

-  Any active ACLC member in good standing may participate in the HAP. 

-  The plants being submitted for points may be submitted one of two ways. They may be brought to a general meeting for verification by a member of the HAP Committee or detailed photographs of the plants may be emailed to the HAP chairman at . This will be required for short lived flowers or when transportation will be unfavorable to the health of the plant. A completed HAP report must be submitted at the time of verification.

-  To qualify as a successful propagation, the plant being submitted for points must be capable of surviving on its own. The plant will need to be an appropriate size with both leaves and roots. The following guide will be used for plant submissions:

Bulb Plants (Aponogeton, Crinum, etc) - No less than (2) individual plants, 6 or more leaves, and separated from the parent plant.

Floating Plants (Frogbit, Water Cabbage, etc.) - No less than (6) individual plants, half or more of the size of the parent plant.

Moss (Java, etc.) - No less than (1) golf ball portion, or enough to generously cover a 2 inch by 2 inch area.

Rhizome Plants (Ferns, Anubias, etc.) - No less than (3) individual plants, 6 or more leaves, and separated from the parent plant.  For Anubias species besides A. barteri varieties (frazeri, etc.), 1 individual plant, 6 or more leaves, and separated from the parent plant, will be accepted.

Rosette Plants (Cryptocoryne, Echinodorus, etc.) - No less than (3) individual plants, 6 or more leaves, and separated from the parent plant.

Stem Plants (Rotala, Cabomba, etc.) - No less than (6) stems, 6 inches long; cut from the parent stems.

-               To qualify as a successful seedling, the plant must have been flowered while in the entrant’s possession, and then produced seeds for sowing. Dry bulbs which are regularly available for purchase (Aponogeton sp. and lilies) will not be accepted. Proof of flowering (i.e., photo) is required prior to the awarding of any points for propagation by seed.

-               It is requested that plants be donated to ACLC for auction. A bonus equal to propagation point value will be awarded to the horticulturist after the plants are sold at auction. 

-               Rules and requirements may be waived for individual circumstances at the discretion of the HAP chairperson, with Board approval.  New point values may be petitioned by submitting reasons for disputing the current point value. Point values may be increased or decreased depending on the findings. The HAP chairperson and ACLC Board have the final say on any disputes regarding points. 

-               Points may be awarded up to one time for each species, cultivar, or variety propagated, flowered, or grown by seed. 

PLANT IDENTIFICATION

Proper identification is the responsibility of the entrant.  Scientific names are ever-changing for aquatic plants, so no sole website or book shall singly be used for identification. The website www.aquaticplantcentral.com, is suggested as the best current source for identification. The entrant must ensure to do thorough research. This will be especially true for new species to the hobby that have not received proper identification. The entrant is encouraged to seek the help of other club members or the HAP committee for proper identification. All plants submitted for points will have their identity verified by the HAP committee. In cases where proper identification poses to be very difficult, the HAP committee and entrant will come to an agreement. Cases like this may be likely with similar looking species, such as those of the genus Cryptocoryne.

TANK TALES ARTICLES

10 points will be awarded for each article published in Tank Tales. Acceptance is at the discretion of both the HAP chairman and Tank Tales Editor. Articles submitted will need to provide insight on the conditions that resulted in the successful propagation of the aquatic plant, or some aspect related to aquatic plants other than a successful propagation.

HAP AWARDS

Lifetime Achievement Awards

Novice Gardener: 50 points Award shall be a framed certificate.

One Star Gardener: 100 points Award shall be a framed certificate.

Two Star Gardener: 200 points. Award shall be a plaque.

Three Star Gardener: 400 points. Award shall be a plaque.

Senior Gardener: 600 points. Award shall be a plaque.

Master Gardener: 1000 points. Award shall be a plaque.

Grand Master Gardener: 1500 points. Award shall be a plaque and lifetime membership in the ACLC.

Supreme Grand Master Gardener: 2000 points. Award shall be a plaque and a special gift chosen by the program chairperson and club president.

Lifetime Achievement Awards - Specialty Awards

Group Propagator: shall be awarded to any person who successfully propagates at least 6 species/cultivars from a single aquatic plant family*. Award shall be a framed certificate.

Advanced Group Propagator: shall be awarded to any person who successfully propagates at least 12 species/cultivars from a single aquatic plant family* and has written at least 1 article on the propagation of one (or more) of those species. Award shall be a plaque.

Expert Group Propagator: shall be awarded to any person who successfully propagates at least 18 species/cultivars from a single aquatic plant family* and has written at least 2 articles on the propagation of two (or more) of those species. Award shall be a plaque.

Master Group Propagator: shall be awarded to any person who successfully propagates at least 24 species/cultivars from a single aquatic plant family* and has written at least 2 articles on the propagation of three (or more) of those species. Award shall be a plaque.

*-Many families will not have enough species/cultivars to reach the award levels noted. Members may petition the HAP committee to group 2 or more families together in order to reach these awards. Each family may only be used once in a grouping (i.e., if you choose to add Menyanthaceae family (i.e., Nyphoides aquatica) to water lilies in the family Nymphaeaceae

(i.e., Nymphaea lotus and others), you may not combine any other member of the family Menyanthaceae with any other water lily family. You may continue to propoagate other members of Menyanthaceae to reach higher awards for your combined Menyanthaceae / Nymphaeaceae group.

Annual Awards

Gardener of the Year: participant who earned the most points in the program during the club year, which is determined by the board of directors (usually January 1 through December 31). Award shall be a plaque. In the event of a tie, the person that propagated the fewest species will be the winner, based on the assumption that since fewer species were propagated, they must have been more difficult and/or rare species.

Propagator of the Year: participant who propagated the most species in the program during the club year, which is determined by the board of directors (usually January 1 through December 31). Award shall be a plaque. In the event of a tie, duplicate awards will be presented.