Stem plants won’t root the stem dies off

Hey y’all,

I was wondering if some of you might be able to answer some questions i have about my stem plants i tried asking in facebook aquarium groups but my question went unanswered so i figure i would try here!

All my stem plants grow new healthy leaves quite fast and they seem happy but they do not grow any roots. After a few weeks their stems either turn to mush or they just snap off (ill include a picture) all the stem plants I’ve ever bought just keep dying on me (not just the ones pictured) i have no idea what im doing wrong i have the fluval 3.0, ive been adding seachem flourish and seachem excel weekly, ive been keeping the temperature in range at all time im at a lost i need advice on getting them to root!

is it easier to root them before planting? if so how do you get them to root? ( i was told that i will need to give them root tabs, ill definitely try that but the issue is that no roots have been growing point)

thanks in advance!

 

Not sure if root tabs are your issue. Are you overdosing your ferts? My theory is less is more in a low tech tank. How long have you had the plants? There should be some melting but they’ll usually recover. And most importantly: can you take a photo of the entire plant so I can ID it or do you know the name?

 

Not sure what plants you have, but you may want to research - some plants won't grow if their rhizome is under the substrate.

 

All my stem plants grow new healthy leaves quite fast and they seem happy but they do not grow any roots.

Thats because plants dont need roots to take in nutrients in aquatic conditions.

Growing fast and health (or happy) is not the same.

Growth is determined by light intensity, not by health or choice.

If they grow fast, it means your light intensity is high, which means health is at stake if CO2 in water is low.

is it easier to root them before planting? if so how do you get them to root? ( i was told that i will need to give them root tabs, ill definitely try that but the issue is that no roots have been growing point)

thanks in advance!

They'll root if you improve their health. Increase CO2 and / or decrease light intensity. And patience... it takes weeks for a plant to alter its machinery.

 

Stem plants get their nutrients directly from the water through the leaves. They typically do develop roots at nodes along the stems. If you cut the stem immediately below such a node, you can usually root the stem. Because the roots are not the primary intake for nutrients, adding root tabs is useless for stem plants. You are better off using a good water soluble fertilizer.

Be careful in purchasing fertilizers, always read the labels. Some fertilizers are all-in-one products that contain both macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) along with micronutrients- trace minerals require by plants but needed in small quantities. Other fertilizers contain either macronutrients, or micronutrients, but not both. Many people think Seachem Flourish Comprehensive is an all-in-one product, but if you read the label, it contains ONLY micronutrients. If you use it, you also need Flourish Nitrogen and Flourish Potassium and maybe Flourish Phosphorus.

Stem plants will do quite well if left unrooted. If you do not like them floating, you can either root them or weigh them down. If given proper lighting and proper nutrition, most stem plants are easy to maintain.

 

Then my issues might be that i planted the stems and not the nodes! The plants were cut way bellow the nodes, the plants only seem to be roting up to the nodes! Ill try to cut them and let them root!

thanks for the information about fertilizer i had no idea that not all fertilizers had all the nutrients! Which fertilizer do you recommend? Preferably one that i can get in big bottles!

how do you usually root stem plants?

Not sure what plants you have, but you may want to research - some plants won't grow if their rhizome is under the substrate.

Thank for the info I’ll definitely look it up!

Not sure if root tabs are your issue. Are you overdosing your ferts? My theory is less is more in a low tech tank. How long have you had the plants? There should be some melting but they’ll usually recover. And most importantly: can you take a photo of the entire plant so I can ID it or do you know the name?

Not overdosing im using the recommended dosage of fertilizer! I’ve been using seachem flourish weekly and was about to start using root tabs but haven’t yet☺️ but ill definitely keep an eye on fertilizer dosage!

Not sure if root tabs are your issue. Are you overdosing your ferts? My theory is less is more in a low tech tank. How long have you had the plants? There should be some melting but they’ll usually recover. And most importantly: can you take a photo of the entire plant so I can ID it or do you know the name?

Not that i know I’ve been using recommended dosage! Its been about 2 months since i added them to the tank. They are the red plants in the log!

Stem plants get their nutrients directly from the water through the leaves. They typically do develop roots at nodes along the stems. If you cut the stem immediately below such a node, you can usually root the stem. Because the roots are not the primary intake for nutrients, adding root tabs is useless for stem plants. You are better off using a good water soluble fertilizer.

Be careful in purchasing fertilizers, always read the labels. Some fertilizers are all-in-one products that contain both macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) along with micronutrients- trace minerals require by plants but needed in small quantities. Other fertilizers contain either macronutrients, or micronutrients, but not both. Many people think Seachem Flourish Comprehensive is an all-in-one product, but if you read the label, it contains ONLY micronutrients. If you use it, you also need Flourish Nitrogen and Flourish Potassium and maybe Flourish Phosphorus.

Stem plants will do quite well if left unrooted. If you do not like them floating, you can either root them or weigh them down. If given proper lighting and proper nutrition, most stem plants are easy to maintain.

Then my issues might be that i planted the stems and not the nodes! The plants were cut way bellow the nodes, the plants only seem to be roting up to the nodes! Ill try to cut them and let them root!

thanks for the information about fertilizer i had no idea that not all fertilizers had all the nutrients! Which fertilizer do you recommend? Preferably one that i can get in big bottles!
Sorry everyone i dont know what happened when i replied to everyone’s comment im still new on this site lol

 

I always stick in part of the stem + lower leaf in the substrate, so it's well anchored.

I believe RayClem refers to aerial roots. If you let stem plants float, they develop aerial roots. Solitary planted stem plants also tend to develop aerial roots.

 

The best fertilizer is the one that supplies the nutrients that your specific tank needs. Sometimes that depends on the type of plants in the tank and the mineral content of your water used for water changes.

There are several all-in-one fertilizers that are commonly recommended. One is Easy Green by Aquarium Co-op. Another is Thrive by NilocG Aquatics. There are a few variations of Thrive, so you need to do some research to determine which might be best for you. All-in-One fertilizer are designed to provide an excess of nuitrients with the expectation that any unused nutrients will be removed through routine water changes. If you are not doing regular water changes, these are not ideal.

Seachem Flourish Comprehensive is a great product to supply micronutirents. However, as it does not provide macronutrients, you need to add these separately. Comprehensive works well for small tanks as it is not highly concentrated. If you have large tanks or multiple tanks, this product can become expensive.

I use a product by Brightwell Aquatics called Florin Multi. It is sold as a complete fertilizer and it is more concentrated, so it is better for larger tanks. Florin Multi contains 14 nutrients including potassium, calcium and magnesium, but it lacks nitrogen and phosphorus, so technically is is not an all-in-one fertilizer. However, many tanks get sufficient nitrogen and phosphorus from fish food, so supplementation might not be required. I do occasionally add Seachem Flourish Nitrogen if plants show a sign of nitrogen shortage. Whether this is necessary depends upon your tank stocking. Brightwell Aquatics has a full range of fertilizers.

One fertilizer that I have difficulty recommending is API Leaf Zone. It ONLY contains iron and potassium. It is useful only if those are the only two nutrients lacking in your aquarium. Since that is unlikely to be the case, I suggest you use another product.

 

If you have many plants to feed and expect to be in the hobby for quite some time, you might want to consider dry powders.

Liquid bottles mostly contain expensive water .

Besides, you can tailor a mix of dry powders specifically to your needs.