Trying to regrow leaves on my amazon sword

is it leafs or leaves? i dunno.

so ive done this trimming once. i cut one of the stems almost to the bottom because my sword was just getting too tall and i wanted it to grow shorter. maybe i cut it a bit too short. its a really short leaf. anyway. all the other stems i cut are not growing at all. i just have a bunch of too tall leaves and stumps as im afraid to cut any more as i fear it just being a complete stump.. what am i doing wrong?

substrate: potting soil with sand cap
ferts: Thrive C, occasional Thrive root tabs
Pressurized Co2 used daily on timer
light is one of those finnex planted plus 24/7 things. but i just have the light set on max on a timer from 11am-5pm
i would assume this light isnt the problem as the sword grew like a weed when i first set up this tank a year and a half ago

edit: that algae on the leaves is gone. my snails ate it

oh if anyone has any tips on stem plants . i would love to add some color to my tank . but as you can see my luck with this red plant(forgot what it was called) is not doing good and its been in there a few weeks. i dont know how to keep stem plants T_T

 

Well, that looks like a healthy plant. The new leaves grow out of the center of the plant. You can cut the stems you've already cut down closer to the base.

Imo, you're not going to be able to make the plant "bushy". Amazon swords don't train like other types of plants, so you will have to continually cut the ones that are too tall for your preference.

I would suggest cutting 1 a day until you see new growth in the middle of the plant. I see 2 lighter colored stems that would suggest being new growth as well.

Amazon swords can get rather large. Yours is essentially "too healthy" for your goals.

 

I agree, it looks healthy. I think stem plants prefer softer water, how hard is yours? Also maybe try an easier stem plant like pearlweed or something first instead.
Also want to say ur tank is looking really good! Havent seen u post for a while, last time I saw your tank was when you were trying to get the anubias off the wood after supergluing it on Hahaha, looks like it turned out alright

 

I agree, it looks healthy. I think stem plants prefer softer water, how hard is yours? Also maybe try an easier stem plant like pearlweed or something first instead.
Also want to say ur tank is looking really good! Havent seen u post for a while, last time I saw your tank was when you were trying to get the anubias off the wood after supergluing it on Hahaha, looks like it turned out alright

yeah. i read somewhere that you can propagate it by snipping the rhyzome in half so i guess when i feel comfortable with that ill have a second anubias so to speak. and its funny that you remember that. obviously i just left it there . i didnt want to kill it

i forgot how to grade hard vs soft water lol

Well, that looks like a healthy plant. The new leaves grow out of the center of the plant. You can cut the stems you've already cut down closer to the base.

Imo, you're not going to be able to make the plant "bushy". Amazon swords don't train like other types of plants, so you will have to continually cut the ones that are too tall for your preference.

I would suggest cutting 1 a day until you see new growth in the middle of the plant. I see 2 lighter colored stems that would suggest being new growth as well.

Amazon swords can get rather large. Yours is essentially "too healthy" for your goals.

oh no worries i know i cant make it bushy. but i did read that if you cut it shorter it will grow shorter. and as you can see i need shorter . the tips of the tall leaves are poking out of the water and kind of dying

 

yeah. i read somewhere that you can propagate it by snipping the rhyzome in half so i guess when i feel comfortable with that ill have a second anubias so to speak. and its funny that you remember that. obviously i just left it there . i didnt want to kill it

i forgot how to grade hard vs soft water lol

Hardness is based of of tds and tss. Total dissolved solids, and total suspended solids. The higher the number the harder the water. You shouldn't have to worry about tss unless you're on a bad well or live in Flint MI lol.
Water lettuce is a hardy, easy to grow stem plant. Green tho.
I have hard water and cardinalis plants that do ok. Not great, but ok. They are red.
Not a stem plant, but dwarf lillies are a decent option for color.

 

Hardness is based of of tds and tss. Total dissolved solids, and total suspended solids. The higher the number the harder the water. You shouldn't have to worry about tss unless you're on a bad well or live in Flint MI lol.
Water lettuce is a hardy, easy to grow stem plant. Green tho.
I have hard water and cardinalis plants that do ok. Not great, but ok. They are red.
Not a stem plant, but dwarf lillies are a decent option for color.

I have a general hardness test im going to try to re-figure out how to use . its been a while ^_^

edit: if i did it right. its hard for me to tell when it turns from orange to green . like i can see greet in the light but if not it looks orange still. is it suppose to be a dark green? anyway from what i read its somewhere around 7dgh

i snipped the already stubbed ones a little bit more in hopes of kick starting them. i guess i just wait a long time? or is what your saying just get rid of those and let it sprout new stems in the middle? sorry i can be slow

I agree, it looks healthy. I think stem plants prefer softer water, how hard is yours? Also maybe try an easier stem plant like pearlweed or something first instead.
Also want to say ur tank is looking really good! Havent seen u post for a while, last time I saw your tank was when you were trying to get the anubias off the wood after supergluing it on Hahaha, looks like it turned out alright

if i did it right i think its like around 7 dgh? unless it needs to be super green or something. like i was telling bryan. i cant really tell if its talking about the transitioning color or a solid green, i dont have the gh kh kit instructions so i dont remember what the numbers mean all i could find were the how to instructions online