Trimming Aquarium Stem Plants
What’s the big deal?
If you’re reading this article, that means that your aquarium plants have grown and it’s time to trim them. Good work!
Essentially, trimming plants isn’t that hard. You take your scissors and hack back. But to keep your planted aquarium looking its best, you’ll want to understand why, when and how to trim.
Why trim?
If you’re having success with your aquarium plants, there will come a time when you need to trim them back. The first few times you do it, you may feel a little sad hacking up plants you’ve so carefully grown. Truth of the matter is, it’s an essential part of keeping a planted aquarium.
Naturally, some plants grow faster than others. If you don’t trim these faster than other plants, they’ll take over.
Some plants can grow so thick that the bottoms don’t get light and causes them to brown or die back.
Letting stem plants grow so long that they do laps across your tank doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing.
Trimming heads off plants results in thicker long term growth. Using the right methods, trimming can help your plants fill out more.
When to trim?
You’ll know when it’s time to trim. Seriously, if you’re asking if it’s time to trim, it probably isn’t. When plants start overtaking each other, it’s time to TRIM! It’s also a good idea to trim a young tank. Take the heads that you’ve trimmed and replant them. That’s the best way to get a fully decked out planted tank without spending an arm and a leg.
How to trim?
Trimming is fairly straightforward. Take your sheers and clip above a node. That’s where leaves pop out of the stem. Pretty much every single aquarium plant will sprout two heads out of the node, just below where you’ve clipped.
Learn all the ins and outs of trimming!
If you’re interested in learning more about trimming aquarium plants or watching to see how it’s done, check out the video below!
