# dwarf sag carpet creation questions



## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

I am in the middle of developing a pretty good dwarf sag carpet but what I want to know is if I trim (mow the lawn so to speak) will that cause each plant to try and put out runners rather than each stem growing up?

As you can see I have a few patches that are slow coming in and I don't want the carpet to NOT be coming in because I am improperly fostering it to propagate out by runners rather than each plant putting effort into the leaf growth.











Also, when I got a pot of dwarf sag in the other day I cut seed/rhizome looking structures off of the bottom of the pot and planted them for the fun of it. Well they instantly started growing and while it isn't much of an immersed setup I do have them in a pot with a ziplock bag over the pot to lock in enough moisture to allow for good leaf growth. My second question is if cutting these leaves will force the plants to put out runners? I would like to grow the sag as fast as I can immersed and cull the pot for plants to transfer into the tank. I'm trying to get the biggest bang for my buck here but I'm no expert on creating carpets...










Thanks for your help,
Abe


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## Optix (May 31, 2011)

itll do both...DS is a very aggressive plant


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## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

So trim for optimal growth?


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

I don't believe dwarf sag should get a "haircut" I did that when i first got mine and the tips turned yellow and the plant didn't grow. I did some research and they reccommend cutting away old or yellow leaves closest to the root. So I did that, now it's unstoppable. 
All the green blades around the java moss are the dwarf sag. It's spreading even to the back of the tank!


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## Udenlo (Feb 16, 2011)

I agree with frrok, mowing DS is a bad idea. I also cut a few leaves of mine when I first got it and they eventually turned brown and died. This plant grows like a weed and will send runners off in every direction, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you want to fill in spots I would just replant runners in bare patches that were traveling in the wrong direction.


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## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

You know, I think I will do. I'm getting great growth out of my plants already and I know that slow and steady wins the race but I'm just being impatient. I don't think I"ll cut it because it is a beautiful green right now and I'd like to keep it that way.


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## HypnoticAquatic (Feb 17, 2010)

i only trim any damaged parts, just leave it be an proper fert light co2 for your set up will do best, if u do seperate them i do trim just the tip of the root to stimulate it but it grows retarded fast for me. ive probably pulled up at least 50-100 plants within this last week an still have more than i have room for *just did rescape* . once its established it takes off (will vary on each set up) due to light,co2 ext ext.


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## ScottFish (Sep 24, 2011)

Your tank merely needs a bigger dose of patience. This is a classic plant-and-forget plant. In a couple months you will be wondering why you worried. I planted a few that were not doing well in another tank and now I can't even see the substrate.


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## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

Yup, thats what I'm after.


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