# Dwarf hair grass planting question.. Quick



## Aquat (Aug 27, 2012)

Ian14 said:


> Just got my plants and my dhg mat and baby tears are in steel mesh.. I want a carpet so do I take it out of the mesh???


You can but I'd just place it on top of the substrate and wait for it to root. Less of a hassle. Either way would work


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## Ian14 (Dec 5, 2013)

Will it grow outside of the mesh and still spread that way?


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## edstewart5 (Sep 24, 2013)

Is it just inside of a mesh, or is it a mesh on too of a coconut fiber pad? Mine came with a wire mesh over the DHG that was rooted into and around a fiver pad.


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## Ian14 (Dec 5, 2013)

It just looks like a steel mesh all around it. Got it from aquarium plants central


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## Ian14 (Dec 5, 2013)

Here it is


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## Aquat (Aug 27, 2012)

Ian14 said:


> Here it is


I don't see any wire mesh, maybe coconut fiber. I could be wrong
But that's a lot of "DHG", though doesn't look like any of the dwarf variant, could be just regular hairgrass. 

What I would do is split it into smaller portions, and plant it that way. It will encourage faster growth. 

Here's an educational video that should help


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## Ian14 (Dec 5, 2013)

There's definitely steel mesh around it so rather than trying to get it apart I just planted them like that. I'll put up pictures when the tank clears up. Couldn't it just been a healthy mat of dhg that has not been trimed? Or do you think its regular hair grass. I'd say its 3-4 inches tall at the most


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## edstewart5 (Sep 24, 2013)

If it were me I would take the time to pull it all apart into small clumps and plant them in an alternating pattern to basically plant a small "carpet". Keep in mind, that's emersed DHG and it will melt away to be replaced by vibrant green DHG at the base of the plugs. The best thing to do I've found is leave it as long as possible, let it root and start growing, and then trim the old DHG down a tad. Mines been in probably 3-4 weeks now and I'm just about to trim the rest of the old grass.


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## Ian14 (Dec 5, 2013)

gotcha, thanks


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## edstewart5 (Sep 24, 2013)

Ian14 said:


> gotcha, thanks


Considering I posted this after having it written for a couple hours, that may is definitely a variant of DHG, but in its emersed form. You can tell due to the darker color, the straight leaves, and the seed pods on the top of the plants. Mine was about the same size when I first got it. 

Here it is after a month or so, I have half trimmed the old stuff, but if ya look hard you can see the dark green strands, and the bright green are the new ones coming in. Don't mind the mess, it got sloshed around while moving. 










I started with a 3x5 mat and basically carpeted the area with emersed DHG. With plugs about 1/2" apart and alternating in the rows.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

edstewart5 said:


> If it were me I would take the time to pull it all apart into small clumps and plant them in an alternating pattern to basically plant a small "carpet". Keep in mind, that's emersed DHG and it will melt away to be replaced by vibrant green DHG at the base of the plugs. The best thing to do I've found is leave it as long as possible, let it root and start growing, and then trim the old DHG down a tad. Mines been in probably 3-4 weeks now and I'm just about to trim the rest of the old grass.


+1

You have an enormous amount of dhg. For the foreground in my 2ft tank I started with a potion 2x the size of your thumb nail. 

About a month ago I transplanted dhg from the 2ft tank to another. I made small plugs (6-10 strands) with good roots. I then trimmed the top right down and planted them level with the aquasoil. Trim before you pant. The result is no die back and lush new growth 4 weeks later. I do the same with hc too.


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## Ian14 (Dec 5, 2013)

Dantrasy said:


> +1
> 
> You have an enormous amount of dhg. For the foreground in my 2ft tank I started with a potion 2x the size of your thumb nail.
> 
> About a month ago I transplanted dhg from the 2ft tank to another. I made small plugs (6-10 strands) with good roots. I then trimmed the top right down and planted them level with the aquasoil. Trim before you pant. The result is no die back and lush new growth 4 weeks later. I do the same with hc too.


How short should I trim it?


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## edstewart5 (Sep 24, 2013)

Just to state my opposite opinion, I wouldn't trim it. I've tried 3 times to get a carpet, twice with the petsmart package, and once with the mat. And I trimmed the petsmart package and could never get it to stay in the gravel. Leaving it long with a trim later has worked for me perfectly.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

could be planting into gavel with trimmed dhg makes for a difficult job. 

if you decide to trim, just leave 1cm of green. 1cm of green + roots should be easy enough to plant.


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## Ian14 (Dec 5, 2013)

I'm just gonna keep it


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## Ian14 (Dec 5, 2013)

Still cloudy


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## MiSo (Oct 26, 2005)

Dhg spreads a lot slower than you think. You should plant clumps in a checker board pattern if you want a carpet. If planted like that I doubt you'll have a full carpet even after a year.


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