stopping plants from growing too fast

[lance]

sorry, this might sound like a stupid weird questions.

but my plants are growing too fast. it's good, i can trim them. but they don't look as good as when i bought them coz the stems are longer between the leaves.

you know those plants they sell in LFS? they are usually short n' the space between the leaves are small. they look good that way.

but if they grow too fast, the gaps between the leaves grow n they look unsightly.

are they just like dogs? looks cuter when they were younger :P

[bclee]

In most of the cases where the internodes grow longer, the plants are not receiving enough light. They are stretch out towards the lighting.

The reason could be:
1. Not enough light
2. Plant being shaded
3. Lights not evenly distributed over the top of tank

Just my opinions.

BC

[vinz]

Dosing potassium helps, if you're already meeting or close to the lighting guidelines.

[chrissia]

Reason why they look nice is because the plants are rolled around the floss. So end up like a bouquet of flower (nice).

Moreover most are emersed form so they tend to take longer to grow cause need to transform to submersed form.

One more thing, there are no nutrient in the tank and CO2 so growth will be slow.

[bclee]

Also remember that, when you buy plants from LFS, they come from farms where they plant it under direct sunlight. No FL or PL or even MH light can match the intensity of sunlight. Therefore, they looked more compact.

BC