trimming and pruning question

[nfinit1]

Greetings
My crypts are growing very well..Is it best to clip the old leaves so that all of the plants energy will go to the new growth???

Is this best for swords too???

Cutting Sag low will cause it to grow wide or create new shoots???

Rotala Indica....Is this a middle ground or background plant..I keep seeing different answers???

[djlen]

I would leave the Crypts. alone until the older leaves start to come off themselves.
Swords seem to do ok with pruning. Sometimes it is a necessity as they can take over a tank if you let them.
I don't prune Sag., except for the runners it throws. I have found it best to leave this type of plant to a natural, gradual withering of the old leaves. Then I pull them off.
Rotala can be anything you want it to be. I keep it low to avoid the 'air' roots and also to allow the light to penetrate to the entire plant. This can be a challenge as it tends to grow like a weed, especially with good ferts and CO2.

Len

[Captain Hook]

Good questions nfinit. I know rotala will get as tall as you let it so it would probably be easier as a background plant. But as Len mentioned you could keep it trim and low to the ground.

I also wanted to add a question regarding trimming anubias. How do you break one plant into two or whatever?

[djlen]

Anubia tend to develop a long stem and grow toward the light.
When I want to shorten, or take some for the purpose of propagation, I take a razor blade and slice right through the stem, below a leaf. The last leaf left on the mother plant will soon start to develop a new shoot and you also have a new plant that you've sliced off.
I like the razor because it makes a clean cut on the plant, rather than pinching it.
Three weeks ago, I sent some anubia to another member of this forum and the mother plants have already developed new shoots.

Len