Pruning....

[ikon]

Im still a little bit new to the plant scene .. Ive had my fish tank runnin about a year now but anywayz..

I have a camboda its taller the the tank and its leaning on its side .. What is a good way to trim the plant without damaging it .

I have a sword plant ( think its a brazilian sword plant ) but this one also has gotten bigger than the tank .. How do I trim that plant up .

OR

Could soeone refer me to a good link or 2 that explains how to prune different types of plants and the correct way to make the cut ?

 

[rich311k]

You can cut the cambomba at any node and replant the tops if you want.

The sword you will need to remove the leaves as close to the base as possible. Just discard the leaves the will not grown after removale from the plant.

 

[newfound77951]

Rich has the idea....but just to generalize: any stem plant (ie something that grows upwards from a single stem) can be cut and the tops replanted. They will re-root pretty quickly. Generally you want to cut the stem just above where a set of leaves attach (the node that Rich referred to) but with things like Cabomba that have lots of leaves anywhere between a set of leaves wil do. Remove the leaves from the bottom 1" or 2 of the stem and then replant. You'll get some "floaters" before all the stems take but that is normal, just keep replanting them. For rosette plants (where all the leaves grow out from the center like flower petals) like swords, cryptocorynes and Aponogetons, you can trim the outermost leaves off to neaten the plant up.

 

[Hoovercat]

To add to Newfound lotsanumbers statment, mosses and most ground covers simply get a "haircut" and if a plant reproduces by runners let it get at least 5 or so leaves before pruning it from its mother if you plan to keep the baby. Anywhere along the runner is fine to cut but a clipped runner is prone to rot.


Sorry Newfound, I couldn't resist.

 

[newfound77951]

Sorry Newfound, I couldn't resist.

No problem, I might have to kick JChillin at some point as I think this new nickname might stick!

And more good pruning points, by the way!

 

[Jchillin]

I almost missed this thread. The only thing missing is make sure you use a sterile (preferably stainless steel) pair of scissors. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get a "tank only" pair.

Sorry Newfound, I couldn't resist.

No problem, I might have to kick JChillin at some point as I think this new nickname might stick!

And more good pruning points, by the way!

Oh my, it is catching on.