I went a few towns over to Guánica a couple of days ago to get some bulk potting/propagation soil at a place by the coast, and I came back with two Black Mangrove (I think) seedlings and a Red Mangrove propagule straight from the tree. Currently have them soaking in water to acclimate them a bit before planting them in a drainless pot. No idea what to expect, but I bet it’ll be fun to grow these here, inland.
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Cool, that looks like a fun project.
I know lots of people that grow them sticking out of their aquarium. Everyone says they grow faster in the salt.
I thought about adding marine salt, but I figured that if there was a spill somehow, I wouldn’t want that salt in the backyard soil with my fruit trees. Slow burning growth for me. 
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We have 6-8 propagules of Red Mangroves. I have a collector’s license for mangroves (and also small fish) so I grabbed some the last time I went to the Keys and I also got some from a conference at SeaWorld. We are also inland, so mine are in fresh water. They grow fine in fresh water.
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I always wanted some since the Mom and Pop pet and Garden store I worked for sold them one time for aquariums. I was too broke to buy one! I see them now and again and am reminded about it.
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I’ve seen lots of impressive marine tanks with mangroves online, I’d love to make a marine planted tank at some point. I feel like coastal and marine gardening is a relatively untapped hobby. Hydroponic samphire over a saltwater tank seems like a great way to get some salty greens in your salad.
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I killed off the first mangroves. I came prepared the second time, and had a container, soil and sand ready for them. I brought back three fruits off a tree, and soon prepared the container with a deep layer of soil topped with a layer of silica sand. I added tap water and then planted the mangroves. They look like they’re slowly growing in just fine (much healthier than my previous, mistreated batch).
But now I’m wondering how to handle the substrate issue and water changes. I haven’t changed it yet (it’s been a couple of weeks), and it’s looking off-color and a bit oozy, with bubbles. From Walstadt type aquariums, I know deep substrate can produce anaerobic conditions and possibly hydrogen sulfide, but the YouTube videos I saw on growing potted mangroves didn’t address anaerobic substrate, just water changes (hosing in fresh new water). I can change the water like this, but the substrate issue worries me.
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put something in there that can create water movement to keep it oxygenated like a small usb water pump. just scoop some out and replace it to keep it fresh.
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