Best way to preserve pruning until you plant

[parotet]

Lucky me, in 10 days I will receive a good amount of cuttings from a friend. Probably some Alternanthera, HC, Glosso and Rotala rotundifolia. I will also have some Limnophila aromatica cuttings from my own tank I also want to keep. They will go to my new 60 liters tank and the problem is that I won't be able to have the complete set until the end of the year... That makes 15 days of difference.

I was thinking about 3 options:

1. Keep the plants submersed with a terracota ring in a vase with light (just a lamp), a bit of liquid C and ferts... They come from high tech tanks.
2. Keep them floating with no light (no lamp). I've read in a thread that with no light and in contact with air plants will survive quite well. But don't know how much time
3. Even it doesn't look nice, hang the cuttings in a side of my nano cube (no way to put it on the substrate, it is fully planted), so the plants can receive light, ferts and liquid C.

My new setup will have medium light and pressurized co2, I know plants will probably melt anyway due to the change of conditions (especially the ones coming from my friend's tank... Lots of light and co2), but at least I want to be able to use them in the new setup.

What would you do? Thanks!

 

[Michael W]

If your using CO2 then you can perhaps try an emersed tub. They plants will have an easier time to adapt in your new setup than a low tech one as you'll be using CO2. During that time if you provide adequate light from now till then you may even gain more cuttings/plants from the amount you have started with. All you really need to do is place some plant pots in a tub with or without water (those storage tubs with lids that you can get cheaply from stores). The substrate can be soil. You just need to mist it every so often or potentially not at all once it establishes in an enclosed environment to keep humidity up. Ferts will from from the soil. You won't need to be worried about algae as its emersed so you can have a long photoperiod and therefore potentially more plants as you trim/ replant.

 

[Crispino Ramos]

If there isn't a lot of surface agitation, you may just float the stems.

 

[parotet]

I've tried to grow some of my cuttings emersed but they take a long time to adapt to new conditions, sometimes two months. It's just 15-20 days what I need.

 

[parotet]

If there isn't a lot of surface agitation, you may just float the stems.

I suppose that avoiding surface agitation in that case is just a matter of not damaging the plants, isn't it?

 

[darren636]

Cuttings usually turn to mush if I float them for more than a day

 

[Michael W]

And if the cuttings do start to grow stem plants will often start to develop roots along the whole stem and they will often bend/curl at least from my observations.

 

[parotet]

Finally got 5 bunches of Rotala cuttings from a friend of mine... I'll upload some pics of what I'll do to try to keep them for 10 days.

 

[parotet]

Hanging from one the tank sides. Sorry mates, fighting for half an hour with my iPad and Imageshack to try to get a good image size. Lost my patients, will try later to resize.

 

[Andy D]

If you use Tapatalk you can upload direct from the App without the need to host elsewhere first. Makes it a real simple process then.

 

[Mick.Dk]

Rotala's are usually very good at storing. What you do on pic. will work for this short periode, I'm sure. Same "rules" apply to those bundles, though, as to a planted group : make sure light and flow can get in amongst the stems !!! In this case, I think your bundles are just a little too dense, to assure this happens optimal. Try divide bundles into more bundles of less stems each.
Mick.

 

[parotet]

If you use Tapatalk you can upload direct from the App without the need to host elsewhere first. Makes it a real simple process then.

Thanks Andy, I'm using Tapatalk but it says that I have no permit to upload pictures... Any idea?

 

[parotet]

Rotala's are usually very good at storing. What you do on pic. will work for this short periode, I'm sure. Same "rules" apply to those bundles, though, as to a planted group : make sure light and flow can get in amongst the stems !!! In this case, I think your bundles are just a little too dense, to assure this happens optimal. Try divide bundles into more bundles of less stems each.
Mick.

Thanks Mick... Will change them right now

 

[Andy D]

Thanks Andy, I'm using Tapatalk but it says that I have no permit to upload pictures... Any idea?

If you select 'Tapatalk Hosted' then it should work.

 

[parotet]

Can't see it, probably it is because of my version (tapatalk 2.4.1.... The free one)
Will check it

 

[Andy D]

I use an older version of the free app. When you click on the camera icon you are then able to select a picture. Once you have done this you should get the following screen:

Then select 'Tapatalk Hosted'.

Do you get that screen?

 

[parotet]

I don't get that screen but a similar one... I've seen that I need to log inusing a tapatalk ID to be able to use it

 

[Andy D]

Ah ok. Try setting up the ID and see if that does the trick. I do have an ID set-up.

 

[parotet]

Got it! Thanks Andy... So again, the left side of my nano cube with the Rotala bunches hanging. This afternoon I made smaller bunches to ease the flow between stems

 

[Andy D]

Great!

That picture is much better.