# Root Growth in Stem Plants.



## GDidycz (Mar 6, 2012)

I am trying to stimulate root growth in stem plants and am looking for some direction. Can anyone help?


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Short of making sure the growing parameters are as close to ideal as you can get them, I'm not sure you can do much in a planted tank to speed up root growth, at least, not the way you can with terrestrial plants. Typically, for plants growing on land, you would use a hormone stimulant to speed up root development, or initiate it in difficult to root plants. But if you have any livestock in the tank I would not want to risk using hormone products made for terrestrial plants.

However, if you want a cheap way to experiment, you can make your own stimulant by getting a bunch of fresh willow branches. Any kind of willow will work.. weeping or pussy willows. Stuff a container with willow cuttings and fill with water. Keep the water topped up and do not change it when it gets nasty. Allow roots to grow until they pretty much jam pack the container. Then pour off some of the water. It will be likely be gross.. smelly and dirty looking. But it will be loaded with auxins.. a natural plant hormone that stimulates new growth in both roots and stems.

You could try dipping stem cuttings in this water before planting them, but honestly, I am not sure it will have much effect. It's going to be highly diluted as soon as you put the cutting in the tank. And as I said, I'd be concerned about using the willow water directly in a tank in any great amount. Even if it was not directly toxic to shrimp or fish, it would most likely be very, very high in nitrates. If I've made any myself, I typically use it to water in new cuttings or plants, in earth.

There are commercial rooting hormones too. Most are powders, usually in 3 strengths. For soft cuttings you use number 1, for semi soft number 2, for hardwood, number 3. Another type is a gel at only one strength for any type of cutting. I'd have the same concerns about using them in a tank with livestock as with willow water. They're not intended for such use.


----------



## balutpenoy2oy (Feb 17, 2011)

NPK in fertilizers;

N --- for good developments of leaves
P --- for stem and fruits/flowers
K --- for ROOTS.

This is what I remember from the web. If this is true, look for fertizer that is high on K (potassium).


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Adding more K might help, but mostly only if there's not enough of it present currently. It won't really stimulate growth beyond the norm for the given plant, but it should support normal root growth.

Wish I knew more about the effects of plant hormones in aquatic plants. They must exist and are probably the same as their terrestrial counterparts. They must surely be present in the water if plants are growing in it, but whether adding any of them would be helpful I cannot say with surety.

I haven't any idea if any of the ones I'm aware of would be safe to add in useful amounts if livestock is present. If the tank has only plants and no livestock at all, adding a rooting hormone would not hurt and might help. But I'd not risk livestock with any of them.

One thought that just came to me. You might try growing cuttings in a separate tank, if you have one with appropriate lighting, and use rooting hormones in that. If it works, you'll get faster rooting on the cuttings and be able to transplant them sooner to the main tank. Only way I can think of to try it and not risk livestock health. You could even root willow branches directly in such a tank for prolonged periods of time. They'll sprout leaves and branches but its easy enough to keep them cut back, and though you won't get the heavy concentration that a bucket of rooted willows would provide, they'll still leach auxins into the tank water as their roots grow..


----------



## GDidycz (Mar 6, 2012)

thank you for all your suggestions. I have removed all livestock from a nano tank that I have and will be testing all of your suggestions. I will post my results when I am done, and will post any questions or issues I run into along the way.


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Be interesting to see what results you get.


----------

