Amazon Sword growth..

smit3183

Iv'e had my amazon for almost 2 months now and new leaves have been sprouting from the middle like crazy which from what i have learned that this means its healthy. Iv'e also had about 6 exisiting leaves yellow/brown and had to be cut off which was expected. My question though is when will my sword grow tall,even with all these new leaves it still seems the same height as when i got it. It also produced 3 babies in which i planted 2. They have been planted for about 3 weeks and still look same size as when they were planted,no leaves have yellowed . I have root tabs by all my swords and also dose with flourish 1 or 2 times a week.

Inga

When you first replant a plant, it takes some time for it to recover and grow. Swords are not real fast growers but they do seem to all of a sudden take off and have a spurt. Keep up the pruning and all of a sudden it will grow.

That said, I think plants are each very individual also. I have had a few that just took off and filled the tank and others that seem to have a case of failure to thrive. They sit there doing nothing for a very long time. Same tank, same water, light and food yet some grow better then others.

Geomancer

Light intensity is also a factor. Some will grow taller unde lower light, because they want to get up closer to it and collect more energy. While under brighter lighting they don't have to do that so they stay shorter.

Byron

In addition to what has been said, there is also the normal growth pattern for swords, like all plants. They need a period of vegetative rest. In the temperate climates plants die down and are dormant for several months (winter), or if evergreen they slow down considerably. Then they have a period of increased growth, flowering, etc. With tropical plants that remain "alive" continually, they go through periods of decreased activity as their rest.

There is also species, no mention is made of which you have, but different species attain different sizes. But as was mentioned, light and nutrients will also impact this. As long as new growth is emerging from the centre of the crown, the plant is fine. And older growth (outer leaves) will sometimes yellow and die off, this too varies.

Echinodorus species can be very variable from one tank to another. Some species will even show variation between plants within the same tank.

Byron.