Pruning "Mother" Vals

[Roan Art]

What's the best way to prune "mother" vals that have gotten too long, or are they best unpruned?

Some of mine are way over 54" in length and shading the entire tank. I'd like to trim those leaves back to the base of the plant. Will this hurt the plant at all?

Thanks
Roan

 

[Bmeasure]

that is an acceptable form of pruning for vals. In fact it may even spur more vigorous growth (as typically pruning does). Just trim the leaves as close to the crown as possiible with a clean cut, so you don't damage the plant. If you don't get very close to the crown, you will have an unnatural look to the pruned areas, which can ruin the effect unless hidden behind some decor. I learned this technique on larger swordplants. I originally didn't prune close enough, and the "nubs" took a while to die off, so the plants looked kinda unnatural for a while after pruning.

Also, with vals, I've just snipped off the ends (even tried rounding the ends off a bit. They would grow so quickly that this was an easier way to do things as they reached the surface. The ends continued to look very natural, and the plant seemed unnaffected in it's rapid growth. I'd suggest trying both methods and seek which one works best for you.

 

[Roan Art]

that is an acceptable form of pruning for vals. In fact it may even spur more vigorous growth (as typically pruning does). Just trim the leaves as close to the crown as possiible with a clean cut, so you don't damage the plant. If you don't get very close to the crown, you will have an unnatural look to the pruned areas, which can ruin the effect unless hidden behind some decor.

The vals gradiate from large to small, back to front, so the big guys are fairly well hidden at the base.

I learned this technique on larger swordplants. I originally didn't prune close enough, and the "nubs" took a while to die off, so the plants looked kinda unnatural for a while after pruning.

That's how the pruning job in my 20g went

Also, with vals, I've just snipped off the ends (even tried rounding the ends off a bit. They would grow so quickly that this was an easier way to do things as they reached the surface. The ends continued to look very natural, and the plant seemed unnaffected in it's rapid growth. I'd suggest trying both methods and seek which one works best for you.

I clipped the ends on one val and it looked horrid to me. I probably just did a crappy job. I'm going to try this doing this again first and shape the ends the same way they are naturally. See how that looks. If it looks bad, I'll prune them down at the crown.

Thanks a bunch!

Roan