NorthStar said:
take it that no responces mean it's ok to do plant trimming?
It would depend on what kinds of plants you have. Most of the Vallisnerias grow tall, but if you trim them at the water line, the trimmed leaves will die off ... better to trim them at the bottom.
Anacharis can be trimmed at the water line, but no more end growth will come from the rooted piece that has been trimmed ... it may put out side shoots, though. I try to trim the main stems of Anacharis just above where a side shoot is already sprouting. The trimmed off pieces can be set to root and grow new plants. I think the same thing applies to Cabomba: trim above side shoots and plant the trimmings.
Stemmed plants, like Bacopa, Water Wisteria, etc. can be trimmed, and the trimmings root very easily. In fact, Water Wisteria will send out roots from the leaf axils, or even from loose floating leaves ... it's pretty hardy.
For plants like Echinodorus or Cryptocorynes, the largest leaves can be snipped off close to the body of the plant; throw the trimmed leaves away, as they will not root.
Nymphaea leaves can be pruned off to keep the plant bulk neat and to keep the taller (larger) leaves from shading lower plants.
If you have any plants I've missed, ask again ...
LazyLady
