# Tricks for removing Rock Wool?



## Little Soprano (Mar 13, 2014)

So I went to go find some plants that will grow up to 24" tall, and the LFS had some half dead dwarf hair grass that I ended up buying for $4.00 for the two pots. The rest of it was very healthy. All of it was wrapped with Rock Wool.

Is there any easy way to get rid of the Rock Wool? It took me an hour to get all the little bunches free of the rockwool and ready to plant. I plan on getting quite a bit of H.C. (well it's being ordered today), and unless I can find the vitro stuff, I'll have to seperate it from rockwool as well.


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

I use tweezers that I plant with and a soft bristle toothbrush.
Spent 2 hours one evening on 1 pot of crypt lutea.
It yielded about 15 plants but what a pain.
It was extremely overgrowing the pot.
Scissors were needed to cut the pot away.


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## Little Soprano (Mar 13, 2014)

Does it hurt to just leave it? Like cut for the H.C. thats coming, can I just cut it into small plantlets, remove the bulk of the rockwool, but leave the part holding the roots?


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

I have no idea if the rock wool will degrade or remain as it is.
I have always removed it.
Maybe someone else will chime in.
A soft toothbrush does work miracles on it though.


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## sl3xx (Mar 10, 2015)

I'd try to get as much as you can without ripping apart the individual HC stems. Then plant deep in substrate. You should be able to get a lot of the rock wool off easily unless the pot is overgrown.

James Findley mentions leaving the rock wool on when attaching to objects like driftwood. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZDexLMZFrU&t=21m25s

Also you can easily find the in vitro cups of HC on ebay. Just search "Hemianthus callitrichoides in vitro" - a good seller in Cali has them. Just wash off the jelly and plant!


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