Plants for tall wood

[jameson_uk]

I have a piece of driftwood in the tank which basically goes up to the surface. Looking for option on how I can make it look better.

Sorry for the really bad photo but you should get the idea.

I did have some java moss on the top at one point but it went mental and then started dying off.

First photo is now with lots of frogbit. This was added after the second photo and I had issues with the frogbit getting stuck and disintegrating in the moss. There is some java fern at the bottom which is surviving but not growing too well.

I am thinking of moving my large anubias barteri, that is currently on the adjacent bit of wood but gets a bit too much light so stuggled with algae, to the bottom of this wood but what will work on.

Are my options basically moss, anubias, java fern and buce? Will anything do well on the vertical trunk section? What about the top area, any suggestions on what I can add that would do on under relatively high light (I have the stock Juwel lighting which is 2x 45w T5 tubes)

 

[jameson_uk]

Looking for inspiration for the wood...
I am currently thinking of covering the base section with either an existing large anubias or some thin leaf java fern.

Struggling to figure out what to do with the vertical trunk and top section.

 

[paul_j]

Maybe wrap Hydrocotyle tripartita (sp. Japan) around it? I have no experience with this plant yet, but I'm planning to do this in my tank.

 

[mort]

It's harder to plant with vertical structures but I would try to attach a more demanding moss species on top that would appreciate more light like fissidens or weeping moss. I use bolbitis lower down perhaps mixed or swapped for java fern trident and a few buce'sif there are gaps.
If you could give the wood more of a slant I'd try growing hygrophila pinnatfitida or even lilaeopsis as I've seen some people do.

 

[Barbara Turner]

I've used peacock moss on a large upright section of spiderwood, I'll attach a photo when I get home.
I suspect it will need trimming at some point to keep it in control.

I bound it on with fluorocarbon fishing line the along the entire length, Would have been a lot easier if I didn't have to do it while underwater.
I've got another section with fissidens moss but i'm not convinced it's as nice

 

[jameson_uk]

I've used peacock moss on a large upright section of spiderwood, I'll attach a photo when I get home.
I suspect it will need trimming at some point to keep it in control.

I bound it on with fluorocarbon fishing line the along the entire length, Would have been a lot easier if I didn't have to do it while underwater.
I've got another section with fissidens moss but i'm not convinced it's as nice

Peacock moss sounds interesting given Tropica's description is

Spiky moss does best on vertical surfaces where the branched shoots settle in.

. Interested to see what yours looks like.

You can't really see in that picture but there is a large block at the bottom. The original plan was to have the wood leaning the other way to cover up the pre-filter but it ended up looking better this way. I think I will attach something tall and bushy (thinking narrow leaf java fern) to actually hide the pre-filter and then something else on top. Somewhere on here someone created a little soil area on top of their wood and planted Monte Carlo which looked good but I am not sure whether I would be able to achieve similar with this wood.

 

[Barbara Turner]

 

[Barbara Turner]

Ps The Tank is a bit murky today, had a good stir before i took a photo swapping java moss for flame moss on a horizontal section. A light brown wall behind also doesn't help. If you decide to tie on your palnts with fishing line tie one end to a short length of electrical wire, makes it a million times easier to feed through and arround. If you installing them in a tank full of water and fish.

 

[Saffa]

Tank looks good