How to Trim Stem Plants

[John N.]

Please discuss and comment on Roy Deki's on How to Trim Stem Plants here.



-John N.

[Orlando]

One of my favorite reads right here. Thanks John, good stuff!

[plantbrain]

Always a good thing to show folks, many newbies have a rough time with this one.
Easy to do and show.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[Pat7676]

Good article trimming is one of my problems that i need to work on and i think this article will help me.

[tinkerman]

Roy great articale. This helped me alot as how people get trier plants to look like a bush. I hope to see more articales like this in the future.

[Jdinh04]

After reading this article, I was able to get a better idea of how to trim the plants versus to what I used to do. Thanks for the writeup and hopefully next time I trim my plants, they will grow into a bushy effect.

[JDowns]

I've been noticing at some point you may need to trim and replant just the tops.

I've noticed after trimming Rotala sp. Green continuosly over time the bottoms start to become too ratty and start to die off. Then the tips start to take longer and longer to recupperate after a trim. Replanting the tops seems to solve this problem.

I successfully almost killed a nice bush of Ludwiga Brevips with to many top trimmings.

Are there any other experiences others have had like this?

[reybie]

That's what happened with my rotala green needle leaf I got from Roy. Kept trimming the top until I had just ugly bottom stems left over. Trying to start again and replant tops to see if I can another batch of fresh looking leaves.

[Roy Deki]

Yes, I have noticed that Rotalas are good for about 3-4 massive trimming before you will have to start over with the tops. After a heavy cropping I usually plant the tops within the stems to aid in regrowth. Eventually you will have to trim what stems are left all the way down to the substrate and re-plant new tops. The more of a bush you have the less light penetrates down low. I have even noticed a very nice and thick bush of Ludwigia arcuata was only attached to the substrate with hair roots. Kinda of just floating there. This is normal and just part of the long term maintenance you have to go through in order to maintain a scape.

[JDowns]

Originally Posted by Roy Deki

...I have even noticed a very nice and thick bush of Ludwigia arcuata was only attached to the substrate with hair roots. Kinda of just floating there. This is normal and just part of the long term maintenance you have to go through in order to maintain a scape.

Funny you mention that. This was exactly how my Ludwiga Brevips bush was. A good 12" in diameter with nothing but a few straggling stems and all roots holding it in place. This eventually caused what little stems were left at the top to start and rot away. Fortunatly I was ready for something new in that spot

I think I can surmise that at some point replanting the tops is beneficial for the overall health of the bunch. I could have been misled that the slow regrowth and stunting of the new tips was due to nutrients when it was indeed unhealthy stems below the crowns.