# Sunset hygro issue!



## daking (Mar 6, 2008)

so I have had the above said plant growing for a while. I keep trimming and trimming, now I am noticing that it is starting to get "leggy" the leaves are growing but the bottom is just a whole wack load of stems and roots about 6 inchs up. 
What I would like opinions on is this: do I just trim it waaay back, or pull it out and cut off the roots (basically from the bottom up) and re-plant.. I am starting to not like the plant but the wife does..


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

As with all stem plants, they eventually get leggy near the bottom. To remedy this, you have the right idea. You will have to pull up the plants, chop off the bottoms, and replant the top parts (be sure to strip the leaves the leaves from the part of the stem that will be going into the substrate).

This is pretty much how to prune/take care of all stem plants


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## daking (Mar 6, 2008)

ARGH!! man thats gunna be a pain! what type would you recommend to replace this plant... something that provides cover for smaller fish but wont need to be pulled up every 2 weeks..
also with a co2 system, would that remedy the "leggyness?" im using flourish and big als liquids right now... just cant afford pressurized on my family supporting budget now.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

daking said:


> ARGH!! man thats gunna be a pain! what type would you recommend to replace this plant... something that provides cover for smaller fish but wont need to be pulled up every 2 weeks..


 That's how most stem plants are; you'll just have to keep pruning.



daking said:


> also with a co2 system, would that remedy the "leggyness?" im using flourish and big als liquids right now... just cant afford pressurized on my family supporting budget now.


I don't think adding CO2 would remedy the leggyness problem; it's inherent for all stem plants, and you'll just have to put up with it.

On another note, how much lighting do you have over your tank (and what's the size of the tank)? It's possible that leggyness of stem plants is due to insufficient light as well.


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## daking (Mar 6, 2008)

i have two 50 watt t5's... 50 something watts, one is a 18000k and the other is a 6500 or 10000k I think.. one is bright white and the other is a more purple "life glo" bulb.. yea power glo and life glo.
the tank is a 55 gallon tall tank (2 feet tall) 40x 24x 12


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

daking said:


> i have two 50 watt t5's... 50 something watts, one is a 18000k and the other is a 6500 or 10000k I think.. one is bright white and the other is a more purple "life glo" bulb.. yea power glo and life glo.
> the tank is a 55 gallon tall tank (2 feet tall) 40x 24x 12


The Kelvin ratings on some of those Hagen bulbs are always skewed, in my opinion. There's no way you can have an 18000K bulb 

Well, it's good to reassure you that the leggyness isn't caused by lack of light; your plants are doing well


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

Darkblade48 said:


> That's how most stem plants are; you'll just have to keep pruning.


It doesn't seem fair does it? As soon as Hygro starts to do well and look nice, it becomes a huge pain to keep in check. If you have CO2, it will only grow faster. Pretty obvious why this stuff is classified as a noxious weed eh?

If you want something that doesn't need frequent attention, you need to look mainly at plants other than stems. The slowest growing stem plant I have found is bacopa monnieri. Hygros and L. sessiflora about the fastest.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Mr Fishies said:


> It doesn't seem fair does it? As soon as Hygro starts to do well and look nice, it becomes a huge pain to keep in check. If you have CO2, it will only grow faster. Pretty obvious why this stuff is classified as a noxious weed eh?
> 
> If you want something that doesn't need frequent attention, you need to look mainly at plants other than stems. The slowest growing stem plant I have found is bacopa monnieri. Hygros and L. sessiflora about the fastest.


Heh, yep, it's a real pain, but that's what makes the hobby fun  Having pretty Hygro last about 2-3 days before it starts to get leggy.

I agree, B. monnieri is one of the slowest stem plants I've seen.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Mr Fishies said:


> It doesn't seem fair does it? As soon as Hygro starts to do well and look nice, it becomes a huge pain to keep in check. If you have CO2, it will only grow faster. Pretty obvious why this stuff is classified as a noxious weed eh?
> 
> If you want something that doesn't need frequent attention, you need to look mainly at plants other than stems. The slowest growing stem plant I have found is bacopa monnieri. Hygros and L. sessiflora about the fastest.


Bacopa is a great stem plant. Grows a bit slower, and will flower if you let it grow above the water. Easy to trim and replant and very resilient.


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## XbrandonX (Nov 22, 2007)

Chris S said:


> Bacopa is a great stem plant. Grows a bit slower, and will flower if you let it grow above the water. Easy to trim and replant and very resilient.


X2 Bacopa is a beautiful plant... same with the baby tear variant


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

I wish I could get my bacopa to grow. It is a nice looking plant thought.


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## daking (Mar 6, 2008)

*bacopa*

In the tank I have, it usually needs to be trimmed once every two weeks


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