Trimming Wysteria and Moneywort

[aquanaut]

Hello

Well...as it says, how do I trim these guys. They are growing like crazy. Just top em? Thanks all

 

[7Enigma]

Wisteria can be trimmed from the top and the tops can be replanted if you want more groups. The root structure will also sprout new leaves as well. Basically any part of the plant will regrow, so no worries (i've had clippings 1/4" of just a leaf portion that sprouted roots and regrew into a plant!).

HTH,

justin

 

[bman]

BE careful when you "top" the wisteria because the remaining stem will grow a branch off it and start to grow sideways. From an aquascaping point of view, it may look weird. I still have some that looks this way, just check out my gallery.

I have also taken many "tops" of the wisteria and have created a good ground cover, as these tops seem to be growing sideways, not straight up like it should.

 

[7Enigma]

bman,

I think its a trial by trial basis with this plant (or the age of the plant, or where its cut) as I have not experienced this. I take clippings from my planted plants (with roots in the substrate) and they grow straight up. How is your lighting setup? I find that my plants in the very foreground will grow sideways due to my lighting (normal hood with better lighting causes there to be a narrow area of better lighting instead of a consistent amount across the whole tank).

 

[bman]

I think I may actually have too much light for the wisteria. That means it can creep sideways instead of stretching upward toward the light. I just acquired some parrot's feather that has started getting bushy instead of growing upward as well.

I would try decreasing some light but I recently added some rotala macrandra that says it requires higher light.

7Enigma - what size is your tank and how much light do you have?

I have a 20 gallon long and the distance from the substrate to the light is about 13 inches.

 

[7Enigma]

bman,

I have a 20gallon high with 65w corallife 6700K bulb.

 

[bman]

Sounds like a good amount of light.

The distance to the light from the substrate should be around 18" though.

That is five inches higher than mine.

A lot can happen in five inches with flourescent lighting.