Propagating Questions - How To?

[Harlock]

Well, my Wisteria is really, really, really getting full now. When I first got them they were 5-6 inches high and only showing emersed growth. If you look at the link in my sig (56k users may want to skip that part) you can see a picture from 2 weeks ago and that was about 2 and a half weeks after I actually got them. They are full and fluffy and I love them. The thing is, the bottoms are still basically emersed growth while the tops are the expected submersed.

I would really like to propagate these plants into other locations in this tank, to really fill out the back and give molly fry some wonderful hiding places. I have ideas, because I have been propagating other stem plants already. Just cut, pull off the bottom leaves and bury the nodes, right? Well, my main question is how low can I cut the plants? I want to get more submersed growth down lower in the tank. If I cut down the original plants to 3 inches above the substrate and then replant the cuttings, will the original plants be okay? Is 3 inches enough for them to put out new submersed growth, or is that too short for the plant's survival? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[djlen]

Depends on how long they have been in the substrate. Most stems start to look scruffy after a while when not pulled up and the roots pruned off. I go with one month, max. before pulling them, but there are probably others who go longer.
I don't like stems as background plants for this reason and also because they block light to their bases when they get tall and full, causing them to look really scruffy(there's that word again) on the bottom.
To propagate them I like to take a 12 - 18" stem and but it in thirds, cutting off the base and planting them back into the same spot. Just did exactly that with some L. Repens this morning, in two separate tanks.
If you have the light, 3" is definitely not too short to keep any stem plant, and keep it looking nice, IMO.

Len

[congealedmeat]

I like to use a razor blade too when trimming plants like this. I've found the cuttings produce roots quicker than with scissors.

I've never cut the roots off any plants I've had. What does this do for the plant? Will it promote newer growth(above or in the substrate)?

I've got some of what I believe is Giant Hygro, and it's got a huge root ball(baseball sized) of healthy roots.

Thanks for any advice(hope I'm not stealing your thread here) :D

[Samala]

Harlock - I think what you've got in mind is fine. Its certainly very close to what I've been doing with wisteria to spread it all around my tank. I just did it an hour ago. I cut the long stems about 4" from substrate, leave the roots intact. Pull off big leaves on the cutting and replant. The "original" should put out side shoots pretty quickly, leaving the roots undisturbed seems to help. This is how I went from four cuttings a few inches in height, all emergent, to well over 25+ plants all around my aquarium. The usual topping method where the roots are pulled out with the "scruffy" parts (good word Len!) and trashed are useful when you dont need to propagate more stem plants to use.

>Sarah

[Harlock]

Thanks, Sarah! I'll give them a go from 4 inches then and see how it goes.

[happychem]

Ludwigia doesn't like its aerial roots pulled. Wisteria and Hygro are fine with it.

When the roots get long on my swords I trim them down to about 1.5-2" in length. I was talking to an outdoor gardener who told me that when moving shrubs and trees around he cuts the roots off at the ends, makes them easier to handle and stimulates the plant to grow more roots, which helps it settle in better. It's worked well for me so far, but I wouldn't take the analogy too far, since this is a terrestrial analogy. Crypts might not appreciate it as much, but I suspect that they'd probably melt and come back stronger than before.

The tank is coming along nicely Harlock. Don't sweat the emersed growth leaves on the wisteria, it'll fix them if it needs to. Mine still put out some like that from time to time, doesn't seem to hurt the plant at all.