Need Advice On Pearl Weed

[FLFishChik]

In December, I purchased a pot of ACO Pearl Weed. I want it to spread but am unsure how to go about doing this. It’s grown several inches taller since I plopped it pot and all into the substrate, but it doesn’t seem to want to send runners. What am I missing?

[Patrick_G]

I don’t have good luck with it either. I can successfully grow plants that are supposed to be more difficult but my attempts at Pearl Weed are less than successful. I recently bought a huge bag of it and after a month or two it looked just like your pot. The lower stems were dying and the upper growth was leggy. 

 

[JoeQ]

Following,  I also just got some in my most recent order and separated it among 2 separate tanks in a few different locations.  Ao far no spreading outward, only upward. Tomorrow I might top a few sprigs to see if that stimulates some growth. As well as giving a bigger than usual dose of Micros.

[Mmiller2001]

It doesn't spread. Chop it and replant the tops. The lower chopped will split more tops. Keep propagating it and mow it often.

[FLFishChik]

On 1/23/2023 at 9:03 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

It doesn't spread. Chop it and replant the tops. The lower chopped will split more tops. Keep propagating it and mow it often.

So basically, like PSO, if you chop it it sprouts 2 from the original stem?

Edited January 24, 2023 by FLFishChik

[Cory]

On 1/23/2023 at 6:03 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

It doesn't spread. Chop it and replant the tops. The lower chopped will split more tops. Keep propagating it and mow it often.

In my experience it spreads itself. A video will come out in the next month showing that. You can trim and plant stems as well, but I find it to be frustrating as it doesn't root very easy with this method.

From the picture, I think it might be struggling to get enough light. You may want to trim the plant, each time you trim, you're training it to stay low and it spreads faster from what I've seen.

[Mmiller2001]

On 1/23/2023 at 8:36 PM, Cory said:

In my experience it spreads itself. A video will come out in the next month showing that. You can trim and plant stems as well, but I find it to be frustrating as it doesn't root very easy with this method.

From the picture, I think it might be struggling to get enough light. You may want to trim the plant, each time you trim, you're training it to stay low and it spreads faster from what I've seen.

Ah, I took spread as moving out like moss creeps over surfaces. Indeed, it will form a wide bunch in time. 

I've found cutting and replanting to be quite effective in spreading it out. When I tried it, I only had a single bunch and was able to just top and replant.

[FLFishChik]

On 1/23/2023 at 10:36 PM, Cory said:

In my experience it spreads itself. A video will come out in the next month showing that. You can trim and plant stems as well, but I find it to be frustrating as it doesn't root very easy with this method.

From the picture, I think it might be struggling to get enough light. You may want to trim the plant, each time you trim, you're training it to stay low and it spreads faster from what I've seen.

Thanks @Cory, I’ll up my lighting (trying to balance between enough light for plants, not too much that I have algae issues) and give it a trim this week and go from there.

[Odd Duck]

Mine grows great as a floating plant but it was a pain in the patoot to try and keep it rooted.  It grows upward and doesn’t want to stay down and behave particularly well. I probably didn’t mow it enough.

[FLFishChik]

On 1/25/2023 at 7:05 AM, Odd Duck said:

Mine grows great as a floating plant but it was a pain in the patoot to try and keep it rooted.  It grows upward and doesn’t want to stay down and behave particularly well. I probably didn’t mow it enough.

I’m debating on whether to let it grow as is, or try and get it to spread low, lol. 
 

id try and let the cuttings float, but floaters don’t tend to do well in my set up because of the HOB. I’ve tried to slow the current with sponges and a baffle, but it doesn’t do enough

Edited January 25, 2023 by FLFishChik

[Odd Duck]

On 1/25/2023 at 6:52 AM, FLFishChik said:

I’m debating on whether to let it grow as is, or try and get it to spread low, lol. 
 

id try and let the cuttings float, but floaters don’t tend to do well in my set up because of the HOB. I’ve tried to slow the current with sponges and a baffle, but it doesn’t do enough

Once it reaches a big enough and dense enough bunch it doesn’t care about the current unless it’s crazy current.  I have HOB’s in most tanks where I have it.  You can use tweezers to keep sticking the tallest stems down into the substrate.  It will sprout along the now horizontal stems and root along those stems, too.  It will form a mat, but it takes a bit of time and at least weekly effort at minimum to get it to mat well.  It mostly wants to grow up, so topping and replanting, or poking stems down so it gets side sprouts that root is the best way I found to get coverage if that’s what you’re aiming for.  Others may have different experience with it.  Mostly I let it do it’s own thing now.  It floats subsurface and even lifts out of the water quite happily for me.  😆 

Edited January 26, 2023 by Odd Duck
Typo

[FLFishChik]

On 1/26/2023 at 1:49 PM, Odd Duck said:

Once it reaches a big enough and dense enough bunch it doesn’t care about the current unless it’s crazy current.  I have HOB’s in most tanks where I have it.  You can use tweezers to keep sticking the tallest stems down into the substrate.  It will sprout along the now horizontal stems and root along those stems, too.  It will form a mat, but it takes a bit of time and at least weekly effort at minimum to get it to mat well.  It mostly wants to grow up, so topping and replanting, or poking stems down so it gets side sprouts that root is the best way I found to get coverage if that’s what you’re aiming for.  Others may have different experience with it.  Mostly I let it do it’s own thing now.  It floats subsurface and even lifts out of the water quite happily for me.  😆 

So if I trim it, bunch them together with some thread and stick them into the gravel, they’ll root? Would that work?

[FLFishChik]

Ok, gave it a haircut and bundled the trimmings together and plunked them in the substrate. Crossing fingers it works, lol

[Odd Duck]

I’ve never bundled anything although I don’t know why you couldn’t as long as the thread doesn’t damage the base of stems.  I just use the tweezers to cram any stems deep into the substrate and let them sort themselves out.  Cram the plants down deep, then slide the tweezers sideways a bit before lifting them away.  That way the plant base is more likely to get caught by the substrate instead of lifting back out with the tweezers.  Pearlweed is really just tiny stem plants, not really runner plants like many other carpeting plants.  But they sort of act like runnering plants when you bend the stems down and cram them into the substrate, but many stem plants will do that.  We just don’t often take advantage of that since we mostly prefer how stems look when they are planted their own personal, perfect distance apart.  It’s a decent way to propagate many types of stem plants, though.  Lightly bury a stem sideways or pin down with rocks, keeping the tip out, then hope it will produce a bunch of side starts.  Trim off the side starts and plant.  Even better if it produces some roots along the horizontal stem.

[FLFishChik]

 

On 1/26/2023 at 6:50 PM, Odd Duck said:

I’ve never bundled anything although I don’t know why you couldn’t as long as the thread doesn’t damage the base of stems.  I just use the tweezers to cram any stems deep into the substrate and let them sort themselves out.  Cram the plants down deep, then slide the tweezers sideways a bit before lifting them away.  That way the plant base is more likely to get caught by the substrate instead of lifting back out with the tweezers.  Pearlweed is really just tiny stem plants, not really runner plants like many other carpeting plants.  But they sort of act like runnering plants when you bend the stems down and cram them into the substrate, but many stem plants will do that.  We just don’t often take advantage of that since we mostly prefer how stems look when they are planted their own personal, perfect distance apart.  It’s a decent way to propagate many types of stem plants, though.  Lightly bury a stem sideways or pin down with rocks, keeping the tip out, then hope it will produce a bunch of side starts.  Trim off the side starts and plant.  Even better if it produces some roots along the horizontal stem.

Ah, layering! Familiar with the term for terrestrial plants. Makes sense that it could be fine for aquatic plants as well!

[Odd Duck]

On 1/26/2023 at 7:47 PM, FLFishChik said:

 

Ah, layering! Familiar with the term for terrestrial plants. Makes sense that it could be fine for aquatic plants as well!

Yes, exactly that!  I don’t know if it’s referred to as layering in aquatics but it is exactly the same principle.

[MattyM]

I'm not able to grow it too well w/o a bit of CO2, nut much, just a little is all it seems to want. 

For planting, I've had luck with taking some longer stems and weighing them down in the middle with a plant weight, then it seems to eventually root itself and spread.