stem rot and gravel

I am having problems with not only roots not growing but also stems rotting under my gravel. I realize that the gravel is not ideal for root growth, as it's too heavy and doesn't hold onto nutrients. This is not happening with potted plants that came with root development, just clipped stem plants. I am going to upgrade to laterite substrate, preferably under about an inch of my river gravel as I prefer the look of the river gravel.

Am I still going to have the problem of stems rotting in the top inch or so of gravel over the laterite? Should I do away with gravel completely, or make it a smaller layer (1/2 inch)?

I know I could make it all Eco-complete or some other attractive plant substrate, but I want to steer clear of the ones that add metal nutrients, especially copper. I had a recent problem with my shrimps dying, so I don't want to repeat that fiasco. In this way, a top layer of regular gravel may also prevent the shrimps from contacting the nutrients in the laterite (which I will supplement with Flourish tabs).

I'm not totally attached to the idea of laterite, but it's cheaper and doesn't add excess stuff like pH-buffering substances, etc. So if anyone has any other suggestions for which plant substrate to use, I will look into those, too

Thanks in advance!

Thanks, Doug.

What's YMMV?

I tried bunching the plants to help weigh them down and keep them from coming out of the gravel, but it seems to make stem rotting worse

well, I guess I'll try the laterite and a small layer of gravel on top. Hope it works. I'm spending a lot of $$ on plants, but it's all a learning process.

Any other thoughts or experiences are greatly appreciated!

ahh, the lack of light theory makes sense.

the specific plants that are presenting a problem with stem rot are Cabomba, red ludiwigia (L. repens), and red long leaf Rotala (don't know scientific name). Basically, anything that comes to me as a clipped stem with no root growth.

lately I have taken them out of the bunches and they seem to be staying OK in the gravel. Sometimes, though, I still get stems rotting. Is this due to lack of light under the gravel? Will the laterite help by allowing them to grow roots?

thanks again, Doug and whoever else responds

Thanks, GCL. I like the idea of a grow-out pot for the stem plants. I've done that with seedlings (terrestrial), but it never occurred to me to try it with aquatics. I think I'll try that!