Pruning Dwarf Hygrophila for re-planting   9/4/07
Hello!
<Ave!>
First off, I (and my lovely fish, could they type) would like to thank you so much for your site. I have learned so much.
<Thanks.>
I have a question that I could not find an answer to on your site, or any other, that I have searched. I have a Dwarf Hygrophila (Hygrophila polysperma, I believe) in my tank that is growing like a weed! It has sent off a number of baby plants from it's bottom that I have used to fill in the gaps in the back of my aquarium which I greatly appreciate. However, the original plant has grown so tall that the leaves on the top inch or so of the plant are floating on the surface of the water. I have read that the top of the plant may be pruned off and re-planted, leaving the rest of the plant to grow. I really don't want to damage this beautiful and prolific plant (my platies perch on the branches like birds to sleep at night) , so my question is, does it matter where I cut it? Should it be right below or above one of the growth "nodes" on the stem? Is there anything else I should know?
<Pruning Hygrophila polysperma is easy and in fact essential, as over time it tends to become rather large and messy. As you presumably know, the only way to get a bushy plant is to use intense lighting (at least 3 watts per gallon). Under other conditions, it becomes "leggy", with long stems with only a few leaves low down and most of the leaves at the top (so it looks more like a tree than a bush). So, shaping Hygrophila is a two-pronged affair: cutting away overly tall growth, and ensuring there's enough light from the lower leaves at the bottom. In terms of the cuttings, you can do with them what you will. Cut away some of the leaves from the stem of a cutting, and then plant it. With luck, it will re-root itself quite quickly. You are indeed correct to assume that new growth will be at the nodes; that is normal for plants of this type. So if you plan to root a cutting, cut 1 cm or so below a node, remove the leaves from that node and perhaps the next node as well, and then plant it into the substrate such that these nodes are in the substrate. Roots will spring out from them. Conversely, when you're pruning a plant to make it more bushy, cutting back leggy growth to just above a node will encourage new growth from that node.>
Thanks so much for your help!
<Cheers, Neale>

Plants
I have live plants in my 33 gallon aquarium. Lately the plant "Wisteria" has been giving me a problem. The other two plants in the tank are from the Amazon family and are doing mediocre. I love live plants in the aquarium because of it's beauty as well as helping my fish spawn. I increased the lighting to 16 hours a day and have been giving plant food once a week. The tank's water is turning green. Can you tell me how to bring the plants back to life?
<Mmm, need a bit more info... this plant, Hygrophila difformis is typically a good grower under a wide range of aquarium conditions. What is your water temperature, pH, hardness? What are the other species of plants? Do you utilize soil in your substrate? It may well be that conditions favor your other plant species here, and that they are mal-affecting the Wisterias health/growth. I would cut back the extended hours of light as they are of little use here, and likely contributing to your pest algae problem. Please take a read through our planted aquarium subweb: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PlantedTksSubWebIndex/AquariumGardenSubWebIndex.html as this "going over" may well trigger some clues as to what your course of action may be. Bob Fenner>