bms

I have not found a good way of trimming my plants... specially my L. Repens, it seems like trimming them makes them look really weird.

I have a twenty gallon, so it is not very deep, so it seems I always have to trim the most bezutiful part of the plant... I started trimming almost the full plant and replanting it, thus preserving the tops of the plants... this however is a pain as removing the planted roots makes a mess in my tank, I have a layer of peat as the bottom layer.

Any suggestions?

gpodio

Not much to suggest other than to wiggle the roots out very slowly. Do this prior to a water change, this way you remove elements that have come out of the substrate and into the water, the cloud will settle overnight. Pulling roots is nearly an artform

The more you trim the plants back and let the base regrow, the more roots you will need to deal with eventually. With some plants, topping is best because of the root structures they grow if left rooted for too long.

When pruning, prune a third or half the plant ahead of time, this way when it's time to prune the tallest stems, the ones you cut earlier are already growing back, this way you never cut it all away.

Hope that helps
Giancarlo Podio

bms

thanks giancarlo, I thought there was no easy way around this problem, but figured it would not hurt to ask.

The reason why I started pruning most of the plant is the depth of my tank. If I cut half or 1/3 of the plant, replanting the top is nearly impossible, as most of the leaves end up underground, and I hated throwing those beautiful tops away.

With my Repens, it has become a weekly task to trim... I guess I'll have to throw them out or trade them here.

cS

Have you tried mowing the group right to the substrate line and allow the roots to rot on its own rather than disturbing the substrate and the surrounding plants? Just push those top cuttings in.