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Propagating Anacharis? [growing from peices]

13K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  KPainter 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm wondering the best way to do this..
I've read float peices, or anchor a long peice to the bottom of the tank, and at every nodule new plants should shoot...
I have sand on the bottom of some of the tanks id like to grow it in, should I gently take the leaves off and cover it in sand?
How small a price should I cut? One inch? Two? Six?
Any experiences or advice is welcome!


Edit:
What should I cut with? I used regular scissors with my parrots feather, and almost 1/3 turned brown and black!
 
#2 · (Edited)
heehee, this is an easy one! It doesn't matter WHAT you do to Anacharis, it'll pretty much deal with it. I've accidentally broken very small segments off of stems before and just left them alone until they grew another shoot :) They have to be REALLY dead not to be alive (if they're in the right conditions)

Its worth keeping in mind that the stem where you make the cut on the plant won't just continue to grow up from that point. That tip is dead, and it will sent out a new shoot (or several) from wherever on the stem it feels like it should. You can prune it in different ways - or float it- to get the look that you want.

People do recommend that you trim off the leaves where you put the new end into the substrate, as far as I can tell this is simply because they'll rot and we all know dead things in tanks are no good. In my experience, the entire end that you put into the substrate is going to rot anyway, and the roots usually form just above it. You could lay it flat and weight it down, it will send down roots and up shoots all along the stem. . . I've never done it this way, but keeping it weighted without burying it is what you'd want to do, the stem needs to see the light to grow. I'm not sure about this, but if I were going to try to grow it this way, I'd leave the leaves on it - at least on the top. I think it would regrow, either way, but I'm not sure why would it be necessary to kill the leaves that would continue to get light.

Any way you slice it, Anacharis is a fun and easy little plant!
 
#3 ·
I abuse my anacharis. I cut it with my finger nail. xD I have so much that you can't see any ugly tips on it though. If you have plants rotting where you cut I'd get sharper scissors to cut them with.
 
#5 ·
Thanks guys!
I have suction cups with little hooks on them, i think ill suction cup the stem to the tank longways, and see what happens! I should get little sprouts, but how soon?
How fast does the grow??
 
#6 ·
That question is not so easy because it depends on a lot of factors like lighting, nutrient availability, co2, etc. In MY tanks, a cutting that I've put into the substrate will show noticeable growth in a few days. I'm not sure how long it'll take it to send off shoots while growing sideways, though - I've never done it that way. But it's a fast-growing plant, so I doubt it will take long. If it's a new plant to your tank, it might go through a period of die-off before it starts growing, while it adjusts to the new environment, but if you leave it alone, it will bounce back very quickly.
 
#7 ·
I cut mine with my fingernail too. Never had an issue with brown leaves.
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