how exactly should you prune stem plants in ada soil (ludwigia arcuata)?

[loupgarou]

basically, this is my first time using ada soil. I'm afraid if I rip up the plant its going to make a huge mess,

yet I'm not sure just trimming it and tossing the tops is the right way to go (ie: the bottom parts of the plant are the older parts.)

opinions? or I should drain most of the tank water at next water change and rip it up?

or i should trim it near the ada line then reinsert the top bits back in ignoring the old roots?

[Urban Aquaria]

If you want to create a dense bushy crop, just trim regularly at different heights as the plants grow... 2 or more stems will grow from each cut, here is a diagram:



Diagram from Google Images.

If you find that the bottoms are getting very old and most of those bottom leaves have melted, just cut the heathy tops, uproot and discard the old bottoms, then replant the healthy tops. You'll usually need to do this on a regular basis to keep the plants looking fresh.

[skytan]

Nice Ludwiga , the red is there.
Mine greenish and red not coming out so vibrantly. May I know what Fertilizers you using?

If you want to create a dense bushy crop, just trim regularly at different heights as the plants grow... 2 or more stems will grow from each cut, here is a diagram:



Diagram from Google Images.

If you find that the bottoms are getting very old and most of those bottom leaves have melted, just cut the heathy tops, uproot and discard the old bottoms, then replant the healthy tops. You'll usually need to do this on a regular basis to keep the plants looking fresh.

But uprooting will it disturb the soil and probably affect the whole area if the roots are spread out?

[Urban Aquaria]

But uprooting will it disturb the soil and probably affect the whole area if the roots are spread out?

Yeah, uprooting plants will naturally disturb the soil and toss up some soil particles... the key is to switch off your filter before doing that, uproot the plants slowly to minimize disturbance, re-plant, let the soil dust settle, then switch the filter back on. That will help reduce soil particles clouding the water column.

I've noticed that fast growing stem plants tend to have relatively shallow fine root structures though (which makes things easier), so they are not as messy to uproot and re-plant compared to heavy root feeding rosette plants like echinodorus or cryptocorynes.

[Gavan]

https://youtu.be/6krMac942KU

tadaa


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk