Planting Scarlet Temple

[Khory]

I have some Scarlet Temple to plant today. They come bundled in a rubber band. Is it best to seperate it or plant it with the rubber band intact? Or maybe bundle a few together with a plant weight?

[Scott P.]

I have never used scarlet temple but I would remove the rubber band for sure.

[DannyBWell]

I had some for a few months I separated them but I also completely failed with them so hopefully someone with more experience comments.

[Odd Duck]

I'm *not* a stem plant expert, but I don’t ever leave a rubber band on because it slowly constricts the stems and will cause rotting.  You can potentially leave a few stems bundled with a plant weight, but there’s some risk of the same thing happening.  I always separate them and plant each stem individually.  Ideally, you will have enough separation between plants to let some light get down to the lower leaves so they will be less likely to drop.

Some stem plants will branch from low on the stem after you trim the tops (I can’t remember the species), most will branch from the node right below the trimmed spot.  Scarlet temple branches from right below the trimmed spot.  If you want to get a thicker, bushier effect, trim the tops of the stems you have (and plant the tops, too), and you should get branching from near the tops of your trimmed stems.  When you need to trim for height, repeat the same - replant tops, wait for more branching.

I think some people (me 🙋🏻‍♀️) let stem plants get too long and then wonder why the bottom gets straggly.  I need to remind myself to trim earlier so I end up with each original stem looking bushier.  Then once they’re nice and dense, let them get height.  Like many others, I need more patience!

[Dawn T]

Rubber bands and plant weights both - I can't keep plants from rotting. I stopped using both and just do my best to push the base of each stem into the substrate individually. WAY less losses that way.

[Kat_Rigel]

I also recommend removing the rubber band and weight. Separate the stems and plant them each individually; they are each their own plant (or they will be once they grow.) There's no real benefit to keeping them bunched together. I tried that with some crypt lutea and it just held back their growth- once I separated them, they took off! I'm sure it would be similar for scarlet temple.

I speak from experience with stem plants in general. I have some AR right now but I'm still figuring out how to key in and really make it grow. But I did separate them before planting.