Any tips on keeping Crypt Wendtii more compact

[tolstoy21]

I see many pictures online of Crypt Wendtiii growing nice and compact. Mine grow more like Amazon Swords. They are nice full plants, but they tend to get close to 18" in height. I've actually started using them as background plants in some situations.

For anyone with more experience with these, what should I do to get more compact growth? Higher light? Lower light? Feed less? Don't feed root tabs at all? 

I do like using them to add some color to the background, but I was really hoping to have nice full, small clumps of these in the mid-ground. Right now they dominate that space and i have to thin them frequently. 

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by tolstoy21

[Will Billy]

I do not have experience with crypts, but as a general rule in most carpeting style plants the lower the lighting the more they grow up to reach the lower light. The higher the lighting they are satisfied with the adequate light source and grow outward instead of upwards. Other general planting tips include dialing back on fertz just a bit, and pruning techniques. Trimming the outsides of the plant encourages them to grow taller, where a topping technique in which you cut the main trunks in the center mass promote outward growth. These are just some general techniques not related specifically to your crypts ( the topping technique admittedly i learned from growing cannabis a long time ago when i was a misguided youth) and may not necessarily apply to this situation. I look forward to another forum member with more specific crypt related tips, and to learn alongside you. But hopefully those generalized tips will help you as well. 

[tolstoy21]

5 minutes ago, Will Billy said:

The topping technique admittedly i learned from growing cannabis a long time ago when i was a misguided youth.

Depending on what state you're in, yesteryear's misguided youth is today's budding entrepreneur.  Maybe you were just a visionary ahead of your time?

And thanks for the tips. I was thinking the same about light intensity. My lights are dialed back quite a bit to accommodate for the amount of Anubias I have in my tank. In general, it's a pretty low light, low tech setup.