Can someone tell me about Amazon Sword propogation? I've got one long stem with several small plants starting to grow from it, is there a time that these small plants need to be removed?
Thanks,
Bill
Thanks,
Bill
Amazon sword propogation?
- Thread starter wbaker01
- Start date
I have the same thing going on in one of my tanks..I cut two of the plantlets off and moved them to a different tank..I buried part of the 'root' and left the other plantelet hanging in the water column. I suspect the long roots will eventually reach down to the substrate and the plant wil take root.
I left the other two in the 'mother' sword and will et them do what they will.
I'm curious how they do.
I left the other two in the 'mother' sword and will et them do what they will.
I'm curious how they do.
Yes I just noticed on my Sword that it has this one really long steam(10'' or so) and seems to be budding at the tip and half way through.
Should I let these buds get a little bigger or should I cut them both off making them two new steams to root or just cut the long one off and plant it?
Cool though since my is flourishing and rooting like crazy now.
Should I let these buds get a little bigger or should I cut them both off making them two new steams to root or just cut the long one off and plant it?
Cool though since my is flourishing and rooting like crazy now.
Let your adventitious plantlets get at least a few roots on them before you snip them. I usually let them get to 6" or so before cutting. Leave just a bit of the runner stem on either side of the new plant. If you haven't got vegetarian fish or a heavy load of snails, you can float the cut plants for a few weeks and they'll grow more roots. Snails will eat the roots down to nothing, though.
With swords it's best to let the plantlet leaves get to several inches in size and develop true roots before removing them from the mother plant.
swords are easy, you should leave the baby plants on the mother plant until they appear to be strong, healthy, smaller versions of a sword. when they have nice long roots and big healthy plants, break of each plants with your finger tips, and they'll snap clean off. plant in the usual way. leave the smaller ones on the stem for them to mature.
:huh: Can you be more specific on what type of snails? I have ramshorn (not the big Columbian ramshorn), MTS, and P.bridgesii (mystery snails) in my tank and do as taon suggests, wait for longer roots, and the snails do not eat them. The leaves generally get larger and look healthy before the roots do, but I wait until the roots are a couple inches long or longer. If the plants doesn't start to break loose from the stem after I pry at it a couple times, I leave it alone.
Small dark ramshorn snails, which were collected from a local canal. The MTS and small pond snails (not sure of species, but never bigger than one-third of an inch) in the same tank are not interested, but the ramshorns will eat the roots all the way to the nub in two days. And it's not like the tank is overflowing with snails, either. It seems almost like they're attracted to the roots specifically. I also have a different small ramshorn snail with reddish body color and a milky translucent shell. They seem to leave the plants alone.