Would really like to see a 'how to guide' for getting stem plants properly bushy, with a series of 'time lapse' photos.
I've never pruned really harshly, but from reading around, I think it's key. The steps seem to be:
1. Plant new stems an inch or two apart, in bunches of 4-5 for thin stems (Rotala) or individually for thicker stems (Limnophila).
2. Allow to settle in, develop roots and grow for a few weeks, to 10 inches or so. Then prune to just 3 nodes above substrate. This gets side shoots going. If you're short on plants, fine to replant tops in the same area.
3. Allow to grow again to about the same height. If the bottoms are getting scraggy, flow and CO2 isn't high enough, so try and sort that, or make sure the bottoms are hidden by lower plants or hardscape. Prune to 2-3 nodes above the previous cut, to get the plant even bushier. Don't worry about the shape of the plant yet - you're still just going for density. This time, don't replant tops in the same bunch, as growth will then be too uneven if you that.
4. Allow to grow up again. Then prune just above the previous pruning, but in the right shape for the 'scape. Because the plants are pretty settled, growth should be quite even.
Ta da! You now have a well-shaped, bushy plant. In theory.
(The technique for rapidly increasing plant mass is different - with rotala, for example, a good way is to let stems hit the surface, where they'll produce loads of side shoots, which can be trimmed and replanted. Quite quickly you're got 20x as many plants. But it looks messy...)
Would be great if people could post any 'time series' photos they've got that show this process happening in their tank, with photos taken just before and after each trim. Time to go through your archives!
I'm going to try this technique (with proper ruthlessness) on the rotalas in my big tank from this weekend and will update this topic as things progress...
I've never pruned really harshly, but from reading around, I think it's key. The steps seem to be:
1. Plant new stems an inch or two apart, in bunches of 4-5 for thin stems (Rotala) or individually for thicker stems (Limnophila).
2. Allow to settle in, develop roots and grow for a few weeks, to 10 inches or so. Then prune to just 3 nodes above substrate. This gets side shoots going. If you're short on plants, fine to replant tops in the same area.
3. Allow to grow again to about the same height. If the bottoms are getting scraggy, flow and CO2 isn't high enough, so try and sort that, or make sure the bottoms are hidden by lower plants or hardscape. Prune to 2-3 nodes above the previous cut, to get the plant even bushier. Don't worry about the shape of the plant yet - you're still just going for density. This time, don't replant tops in the same bunch, as growth will then be too uneven if you that.
4. Allow to grow up again. Then prune just above the previous pruning, but in the right shape for the 'scape. Because the plants are pretty settled, growth should be quite even.
Ta da! You now have a well-shaped, bushy plant. In theory.
(The technique for rapidly increasing plant mass is different - with rotala, for example, a good way is to let stems hit the surface, where they'll produce loads of side shoots, which can be trimmed and replanted. Quite quickly you're got 20x as many plants. But it looks messy...)
Would be great if people could post any 'time series' photos they've got that show this process happening in their tank, with photos taken just before and after each trim. Time to go through your archives!
I'm going to try this technique (with proper ruthlessness) on the rotalas in my big tank from this weekend and will update this topic as things progress...
