Attaching Glossostigma Elatinoides To Driftwood -- Success! 65 Gallon Tank

A few months ago I inquired if I could create an underwater bonsai using Glosso instead of some of the other more common plants. There was basically no info on whether this was possible. Turns out: it is! My tank has awful glare for photos, so excuse the photos.

To begin with, attach clumps of glosso to the driftwood with some sort of tie (I used gardening wire):

Glosso attachment to driftwood by Jonathan Greenberg posted Apr 21, 2018 at 11:54 AM

Glosso needs CO2, and tends to spread vertically with lower light -- WE WANT THIS. If you can avoid over-lighting the plant (which in all likelihood is closer to the top of your tank if you are making a bonsai) this will help. The trick is to not rely on the roots, at first, as the way to keep the glosso attached. The roots aren't particularly "grabby" and will not strongly attach to the glosso, particularly early on. What I did was once there was a decent amount of vertical growth, I rotated the glosso around the driftwood so the roots were basically on the top and the stems at the bottom, then made it so half of the stems were on one side of the branches and the other half on the other. I also sometimes twisted the stems around the branches. Eventually, the twined branches + the developing roots will form a more secure structure around the driftwood, then you can prune/spread the plant to make a nice bonsai. Here is a not-so-great picture of the more mature bonsai:

More mature glosso bonsai by Jonathan Greenberg posted Apr 21, 2018 at 11:54 AM

 

Cool!!!

 

Looks great! And it's so refreshing to see a post about glosso for once

 

Nice! Pogostemon helferi also attaches readily to wood, as well as ludwigia (there’s a pic out there of a ‘super red mini’ tree).