Trimming Anubias Rhizome

[MrGrieves]

 

I have this pair of anubias plants that are about 5 years old. The driftwood that they were attached to has basically disintegrated so I am going to attach them to a new piece.

 

As you can see the rhizome on each has grown quite long. Most of the length of each no longer has stems/leaves although there are lots of roots. Can I cut the rhizomes back without harming the plant or is it better to leave them intact? If I do trim off a portion, is the bare portion spent or can I encourage new growth somehow?

 

Thanks!

Edited February 19 by MrGrieves
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[knee]

Yes you can. As long as the cut plant has a rhizome it’ll grow and the bare portion will eventually grow new leaves. 

[Furbs]

On 2/19/2023 at 10:36 AM, knee said:

Yes you can. As long as the cut plant has a rhizome it’ll grow and the bare portion will eventually grow new leaves. 

are other rhizome plants, like java fern, the same way? I bought some that have 8+ inches of roots only rhizome 

[knee]

On 2/19/2023 at 2:26 PM, Furbs said:

are other rhizome plants, like java fern, the same way? I bought some that have 8+ inches of roots only rhizome 

You could trim the rhizome the same way but it's a bit risk y as it could damage the plant.

It would also produce little plantlets on their leaves. Just pluck carefully when you see roots and treat it like a new plant.

[CJhilljack]

There are some videos online that show how to get leaves to grow on bare sections of the rhizome. You cut a small nic in it with a razor knife - I'd recommend searching YouTube for Anubias propagation videos since I'm a noob, I wouldn't want to give you the wrong instructions.

[MrGrieves]

Yes thanks, I have seen videos suggesting that. I just wasn't sure if it would work on bare rhizome that had already produced leaves and was removed from the rest of the plant.

[nabokovfan87]

This might be helpful.  If you have any question or need any details on your specific plants just take a lot of photos and we can help out!