Rooted Plants

[Plantbie]

Can i know how deep must put the roots of the plants to?

if my fertiliser is 1" and gravel is 2".

[Simon]

depend on what species

[wks]

Why do u need to have a 1" thick base fertilizer? Its too much and will kill your plants. [:]

[hwchoy]

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On 8/13/2002 10:20:49 PM

Why do u need to have a 1" thick base fertilizer? Its too much and will kill your plants. [:]
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what do you mean? the base fert should be thicker, the gravel should only be around 1 in thick.

[David Loh]

You have too much base fertilizer liao.

[Plantbie]

Is it too much?

I bought one pack of JBL fertilizer and gravel from Chan and he say my 2ft tank and pour all inside.

I always think more fert will be better

[Simon]

imo, that isnt alot...

[hwchoy]

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On 8/13/2002 11:21:50 PM

You have too much base fertilizer liao.
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how come too much base fert will kill the plants? seems like everyone (all the other gurus lah, excluding yourself ) have been advising more base fert leh?

[Plantbie]

Thanks Simon.

So should i put the plants deep into the gravel till the roots touches the fertiliser?

[hwchoy]

I hope you're using a pincer. [:0]

[Plantbie]

I am actually using my hand to plant as these plants have thick roots.

Do i really needs a pincer?

Any idea where i can get cheap ones?

And can someone advise whether fertiliser or gravel should be thicker?

[Simon]

plantbie, so long as the plant is able to stand up straight.. dun really have to help them reach the base fert.. btw, did u trim the roots b4 planting?

[vinz]

Too much base fert won't kill your plants. Ideally, it should be more base fert and only 1 inch gravel, but your current set up is ok.

Different plants have different planting requirements.

Stemmed plants:
As deep as your can plant, as long as there is still stem and leaves above the gravel. About 1 to 2 inches for large plants. For small, short plants, about an inch.
Rosette plants:
Plant them so that the roots, rhizomes or tubers are under the gravel, but the leaves are above the gravel. No need to be exact, but slightly deeper is ok.

These general guidelines can be followed as long as the plant will stay planted.

Some small rosette plants can/have to be planted deeper. Most experienced forumers here recommend planting hair grass up to an inch deep, else you'll have them floating all over.

[vinz]

Oh yeah, if you can, wrap the roots around the stem and plant it together.

If not, trim the roots to about 2 inches before planting.

Don't forget to trim away dying/dead/rotting leaves and roots before planting.

Tweezers are only really necessary for small or fine stemmed plants, but always good to have.

I do not know if Chan at Nature still sells the same set of tweezers I bought from him last year. Set of about 4 or 5 tweezers in a yellow/blue plastic pouch. There is a pair with square tip which I find absolutely great to use. Not too expensive I think. Else just go any neighbourhood shop that sells household items. Don't bother with the expensive 'special planting' tweezers that some LFS carry.

[bigjohnstud]

Just to share some knowledge which I think may be related to this topic.

As we know, for plants to grow tall (landed or aquatic), the roots must not only be healthy but must also be deeply rooted. To achieve this, one way is to leave a distance between the tips of the roots and the fertiliser layer (this I learn from an agriculturist). The root tips will seek for the nearest source of nutrition and by growing towards the base fert, the roots will grow longer and deeper into the substrate. With better 'hold', the plants will be sturdier and also higher chances of growing taller.

[vinz]

I'm wondering if the ppl who say that too much base fert will kill plants are confusing 'base fert' with 'fert sticks/tabs'.

Too much base fert could possibly kill your plants if you do not plant a lot of rooted plants. There is a system in the base fert which requires oxygen introduced by the roots to maintain the nutrients in a usable form. Without roots to inject this oxygen, the substrate becomes anaerobic which causes the nutrients to change and become unusable or in some cases toxic to the plants. This is a VERY layman explanation. For more details go borrow 'Ecology of the Planted Aquarium' by Diana Walstad from the library or search around www.thekrib.com.

Anyway, if you look in a natural freshwater body, most times you will not find a layer of gravel, but just soil. Base fert in our tank is the equivalent of this soil. The gravel is there to make it look nicer, keep the fertilisers from leaching into the water and preventing the fine particles of the base fert from clouding the water.

[vinz]

John,

Thank you for the info, very interesting. I think though that being sturdier and therefore able to grow taller will be something very important to terrestrial plants and not so for water plants. For water plants, the water around them also support them and they do not have to worry so much about being sturdy. Exception will be plants that grow in moving waters and even those I suspect adopt the strategy of 'bending with the wind' instead of fighting it.

Just to adding to the discussion. Not a challenge. []

[bigjohnstud]

Fair comment vinz

[hwchoy]

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On 8/14/2002 9:15:14 AM
Most experienced forumers here recommend planting hair grass up to an inch deep, else you'll have them floating all over.
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I notice my HG runners are actually growing about 0.5 in below the gravel surface. The green leaves are actually sprouting under the gravel and finding their way up and forming a carpet. You can see this when the runners run along the glass.

This is unlike glosso which runs just above or under the surface of the gravel.