tiger lotus

[RockabillyChick]

i have 2 tiger lotus and both of them have put out several leaves that have stayed towards the bottom. the plants are only about 3" tall. but now one of them is sending a leaf straight up. it looks like an arrow towards the top of the tank and has a stem about 3" long. the leaf hasn't uncurled yet either. i know that it will eventually send leaves all the way to the top of the tank and flower even, but i thought it would make several lower leaves first?

 

[beviking]

If you leave it alone, it will eventually send all it's leaves to the surface. If you don't want this, cut them as close to the bottom as you can once you're sure they are going to be too tall. Sometimes it makes more lower leaves, sometimes it doesn't :huh:

 

[pzuzu]

I also keep some tiger lotuses. I used to like the look of the leaves going all the way to the surface, but I realized it was taking over the tank and not giving any light to the other leaves/plants. After a while there were no more short leaves. So I started cutting them off. Except I thought, well, I'll leave one or two going high. Nope, every single leave just kept growing tall. Figured it's an all or nothing type of plant. So I just cut all the tall leaves. Now all I get are short leaves. So basically, just cut that leaf and any other tall one that follows. They'll learn. And they'll start sending even more runners too! At least mine did. Now it's all bushy and perty. Oh, and covered in algae. heh... but I'm working on that.

Fernando