substrate on driftwood?

[liberator123]

I want to place dwarf baby tears on driftwood to make a "tree". few questions:
1. will HC root on the driftwood?
2. if not, will the baby tears thrive without substrate to root in?
3. if i get dwarf baby tears that were sold as a mat (i think they use coconut fibers to mat them), will it be sufficient enough for the roots? (basically just tie it on the driftwood)
4. if not, is there a way to glue substrate on top of the wood, and then tie the HC to it?
5. if i get the potted version with rockwool, would it be advisable to keep part of the rockwool in place?
Ive seen some aquascaping tutorial video on youtube that just tied the HC (bare roots) on the driftwood. However I wonder if that will be healthy for the HC and if it will last long... I figured that they were aquascaping for display on contests or something and they wouldn't have the setup for a long period of time.

 

[aqua_chem]

Well, assuming good light and CO2, its possible. But in my opinion, HC is outclassed in this role by quite a few other plants that are better at the role. Do you have an example of what you are trying to achieve?

 

[liberator123]

i was actually inspired by this tank Aquascaping - How to make trees in planted aquarium - YouTube
however, if there are better plants (or even algae) that fit better for this role, what is your recommendation?

I also found another tree, but I don't know what the plant is. can anyone identify? Aquascape of the Month: September 2008 "Pinheiro Manso" | AquaScaping World Forum
or this
2012 AGA Aquascaping Contest - Entry #82

 

[aqua_chem]

Both of those are using mosses, which is what I would have recommended. The first guy says he's using Java Moss but it doubt that based on the branching of it. The second one is also using a moss species (weeping moss and singapore moss). There are a lot of moss species that would make very nice looking trees (eg, singapore, weeping, christmas, flame, peacock, etc). Fissiden fontanus is also a nice species.

The thing about the video you posted is that it looks good immediately after being placed, but how does it look after it's grown out? Is it going to need constant maintenance to look decent? I'm not sure.

 

[liberator123]

yeah that was what i was afraid of... so since moss doesn't have roots, it would be easier to maintain on driftwood?

 

[aqua_chem]

Well, it has roots, they're just different. They are what moss uses to attach itself to wood/rock. My concern would be that you would have an awkward mass of HC and roots hanging down after a few days that would be migraine inducing to trim.

 

[Billbug68]

I honestly don't think HC would ever attach itself, it would be a wasted effort. Many people have trouble keeping HC rooted in substrate, let alone on DW. Use a nice looking moss and that's it.