# Propagating Ludwigia Repens question.



## kidgrave (Feb 4, 2014)

When it comes to propagation, am I able to cut anywhere in the stem to propagate it? I have seen videos on Youtube, where people advise to cut the plant near a root. Will the plant develop roots if you cut the stem while it doesn't have any. Thanks. :icon_cool


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## bigbites (Mar 4, 2014)

Im interested in what kinds of replies you get here.. I too have the same question and I am new to planted tanks. I notice on mine..they have roots that seemingly dangle from various spots on the stem.

I BELIEVE you can cut below one of the hanging roots and replant..but wait until you hear from someone else on that to be sure.


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## Hjgpoole (Feb 6, 2014)

I am definitely not a pro at this however when I bought my Ludwigia it was about 3" tall. I added a Fluval Aqualife LED and all the sudden my Ludwigia was at the top of the tank shading a large portion of my tank. I cut about half way down the stem above a leaf node and then took off the bottom leaves of the top portion and replanted as I had found on the net and was told at the LFS.

Both the replanted and the original have reached the top several more times. I have found that I have to keep it thinned out enough for light to hit the plant all the way down to keep from becoming leggy and to keep a nice red coloring. Now I plant the trimmings in a tank I have for my grandchildren and I take them up to my LFS to trade when they develop a healthy set of roots.


Usually I have roots all the way up the plant stem however the few that did not have roots all the way up to my cutting survived and developed roots both in the substrata and up the stems.


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## kidgrave (Feb 4, 2014)

bigbites said:


> Im interested in what kinds of replies you get here.. I too have the same question and I am new to planted tanks. I notice on mine..they have roots that seemingly dangle from various spots on the stem.
> 
> I BELIEVE you can cut below one of the hanging roots and replant..but wait until you hear from someone else on that to be sure.


I did research on this plant. Apparently, you could just cut the stem without roots and it will grow. I watched a YouTube video where this guy cuts below the roots. So it seems that the plant could grow without the roots, but it is more likely to survive better with the roots.


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## kidgrave (Feb 4, 2014)

Hjgpoole said:


> I am definitely not a pro at this however when I bought my Ludwigia it was about 3" tall. I added a Fluval Aqualife LED and all the sudden my Ludwigia was at the top of the tank shading a large portion of my tank. I cut about half way down the stem above a leaf node and then took off the bottom leaves of the top portion and replanted as I had found on the net and was told at the LFS.
> 
> Both the replanted and the original have reached the top several more times. I have found that I have to keep it thinned out enough for light to hit the plant all the way down to keep from becoming leggy and to keep a nice red coloring. Now I plant the trimmings in a tank I have for my grandchildren and I take them up to my LFS to trade when they develop a healthy set of roots.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your reply. I just wanted to make sure that the plant could grow with roots or without them. When you plant the ludwigia without roots, like how many dies does it take your plants to develop roots?


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Ive cut mine several times already, always like Hjgpoole said, above a leaf node, often with no roots at all. Then just stick the bare stem in the substrate couple inches deep. Ive never paid attention to how long before new roots begin to show, but new leaf growth really doesnt miss a beat.


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## Hjgpoole (Feb 6, 2014)

I usually start seeing roots on the stem at a week unless it is a really thin small stem and than two weeks is the longest I have seen with no root growth.

One of my friends has a completely different setup and she finds that hers take a full month. She is running in a low light gravel substrata


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## puopg (Sep 16, 2012)

kidgrave said:


> Thanks for your reply. I just wanted to make sure that the plant could grow with roots or without them. When you plant the ludwigia without roots, like how many dies does it take your plants to develop roots?


Trimming Ludwigia couldn't be easier. Just cut where you want and replant the tops. They will root in a week or so. The plant is fully capable of living off water column fertilization.


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## kidgrave (Feb 4, 2014)

puopg said:


> Trimming Ludwigia couldn't be easier. Just cut where you want and replant the tops. They will root in a week or so. The plant is fully capable of living off water column fertilization.


I was going to ask you something. Which variety of Ludwigia is the hardiest?


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## TekWarren (Oct 6, 2013)

I think it was already mentioned but just trim with enough stem to replant. Some of mine is spreading on its own. It doesn't grow very tall in my tank but it will sort of lay down and grow new leaves along the stem.


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

If you want it to come in nice and lush, let your initial stems grow to the top, hack them down almost to the substrate again, just above leaf nodes as mentioned above. They will grow in two stems from the cuts so you're basically doubling your stems at that point. You can plant other tops also to fill in more space. I prefer this method rather than replanting lots of tops so I get a nice full bush basically from less plants stems in the substrate.


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

kidgrave said:


> I was going to ask you something. Which variety of Ludwigia is the hardiest?


I've had great luck with sp. Atlantis. I love it how it comes in with a rose coloration on the leaves.


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## kidgrave (Feb 4, 2014)

bsantucci said:


> I've had great luck with sp. Atlantis. I love it how it comes in with a rose coloration on the leaves.


Do you have any pictures of that plant? I'd like to see how it looks on your tank.


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## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

In my experience to propagate 99% of plants you just top the plant 1 node or more down and then plant that cutting, it will then grow roots and become a plantlet, sometimes the cutting won't take, but this is normal, and IME rare in aquatic plants...roots are not necessary for successful propagation, but helpful


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## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

I know when I ordered my ludwigia, it came as a topped plant with no root growth...I like to prepare my fertilizer dose for the day and give the stems a 30 second dunk in the fert solution, then add the ferts to the tank, and place a root tab in the substrate where you plan on planting, if there isn't one in the vicinity already, then plant your stems 3/4" down...and you should have root growth in 3-5 days.


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## kidgrave (Feb 4, 2014)

Seadon said:


> I know when I ordered my ludwigia, it came as a topped plant with no root growth...I like to prepare my fertilizer dose for the day and give the stems a 30 second dunk in the fert solution, then add the ferts to the tank, and place a root tab in the substrate where you plan on planting, if there isn't one in the vicinity already, then plant your stems 3/4" down...and you should have root growth in 3-5 days.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I decided to plant my Ludwigia Repens into the dirt without roots, and it took 3 days to root. They seem to really love that dirt. :icon_smil


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

burr740 said:


> ...above a leaf node, often with no roots at all. Then just stick the bare stem in the substrate couple inches deep. Ive never paid attention to how long before new roots begin to show, but new leaf growth really doesnt miss a beat.


+1
This plant will grow roots in a bare bottom tank. Strip off the bottom 4-6 leaves, cut all the bottom roots off. Dump it into the tank. Done.

If you plant it, you do not want the old roots at the bottom: most, if not all of them, will root off in the substrate anyways.

v3


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## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

OVT said:


> +1
> This plant will grow roots in a bare bottom tank. Strip off the bottom 4-6 leaves, cut all the bottom roots off. Dump it into the tank. Done.
> 
> If you plant it, you do not want the old roots at the bottom: most, if not all of them, will root off in the substrate anyways.
> ...


+1 most plants will grow roots in just water, as long as its got nutrients...and i would also advise trimming of old roots, its always good to start with good healthy growth...dont need any pithium, I had an awful bout of pithium and it destroyed every plant I had...EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!


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## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

Seadon said:


> +1 most plants will grow roots in just water, as long as its got nutrients...and i would also advise trimming of old roots, its always good to start with good healthy growth...dont need any pithium, I had an awful bout of pithium and it destroyed every plant I had...EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!


*+2* ... my bad


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