Increasing stem plants

SCMurphy · Post by **SCMurphy** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 2:30 am

Just curious if anyone else does this.

When I get new stem plants and I clip off the bottom portion to plant them, I leave the clippings floating in the tank. When it is time to prune the recently planted stem plants, the clippings from the original planting have grown full sized stems of the plants. So at the first pruning I get to plant the prunings, and the new plants stems from the clippings.

I got the idea to do this from the studies of how exotic plants in lakes were being "mowed", and the fragments that would float away would grow into new plants, e.g. hydrilla and Myriophyllum sp. It's a quick way to triple (or more) your stems of a plant.

Marsha Finley · Post by **Marsha Finley** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 3:09 am

Great idea! Thanks, Sean.

Cory · Post by **Cory** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:21 am

A 12" stem of rotala wallichi gave me 15 new stems in about 2 weeks.

Works nearly the same if you just plant the stem horizontally on the surface of the substrate. To fill in space, tie in a knot, weighing part of it down, roots and all will come.

SCMurphy · Post by **SCMurphy** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:40 am

I have 30+ new stems of Rotalia wallichii that should be ready to plant next week, Ludwigia arcuata and Didiplis diandra are other ones that this worked wonders with.

Marsha Finley · Post by **Marsha Finley** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 2:55 pm

WOW! <img border="0" src="smileys/smiley4.gif" border="0"> I have to try that!

SCMurphy · Post by **SCMurphy** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 6:08 pm

Everytime one of these guys (you know who you are) announce they just got the latest "Congo purple rotalwigia" I just wish I could get the pieces they trim off the plants to plant them. I get tired of waiting to see if they are going to kill it off or reproduce it. <img border="0" src="smileys/smiley17.gif" border="0">

Ghazanfar Ghori · Post by **Ghazanfar Ghori** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 9:06 pm

Jeez. Just come by whenever and take some.
Even if you kill it, I WILL let it go, unlike SOME people.

Jonathan Kalmes · Post by **Jonathan Kalmes** » Wed Dec 17, 2003 3:08 pm

I do somewhat the same thing with floaters, although it's not always intentional...

I have a large rhino pleco as well as several angels that tend to knock many of my stem plants loose. Add in that I can barely reach the bottom of my tank so I can't plant them as well as I like and I end up with a floating mass of stuff at one end of the tank every time I rearrange or add new plants. I generally just leave them there for a week or two until they start sprouting roots and offshoots and then replant them.

I generally clip planted stems for sale at the PVAS auctions, but will start bringing some of my floaters (nothing real exotic, but nice plants none the less) to the GWAPA auctions in the future.

Increasing stem plants

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