Methods of aquarium plant propagation.
Aglaonema. Propagation is possible by separating shoots extending from the plant’s rhizome.
Alternanthera. Propagated by stem cuttings and root shoots. Cuttings left floating on the surface quickly develop roots, after which they can be planted in the substrate. However, this is not strictly necessary, as the plant can develop satisfactorily as a floater for some time. During periods of intensive growth, a 10-15 cm section of a densely foliated stem can be cut and planted in groups of 3-5 directly into the chosen spot in the aquarium. Rooting usually takes place within 10 days, although initially the growth of young plants often slows down significantly. Cuttings from fairly large stems should be used for planting in the aquarium. There should be at least 4 pairs of leaves on the cutting.
Ammannia. Can be propagated by cuttings, by cutting and planting the tops of the plants.
Anubias. Propagated using lateral shoots on the substrate. A new plant can also be successfully grown from a piece of the rhizome. The fastest propagation is achieved by dividing the rhizome. It is propagated by separating the front part of the rhizome with 3-4 small leaves and a few roots. A piece of the rhizome should be separated in the following way. The rhizome is removed from the substrate, and a part of it is cut off (1/3 remains with the mother plant). The resulting cutting is divided into parts, each of which must have buds. The root cuttings are placed in the aquarium. After they grow roots and the first leaves, they are slightly covered with substrate and then planted in the substrate. Very sensitive to injuries during division, growth slows down sharply.
Aponogeton. Propagated by seeds and tuber division. The plant propagates by separating daughter plantlets after at least 3-4 leaves have developed on the mother plant. Young plantlets must be separated very carefully so as not to harm the mother plant. Propagated by tuber division and daughter bulbs.
Aponogeton undulatus. Propagates via daughter plants formed on flower stalks. The mother plant produces stalks that stretch toward the surface. Even a small plant tends to send out such a stalk. At the tip of each stalk, a small node appears, from which the leaves of a new plant emerge. This is the only Aponogeton species that propagates in this manner. A small tuber without a root system can be separated and planted in the substrate; its roots grow very quickly. If the young plant is not separated from the stalk shortly after its formation, its tuber increases in diameter to 4-5 mm, after which the stalk on which the daughter plant formed rots away.
The young plant remains free-floating near the water surface, throwing out progressively smaller leaves. Older leaves die off in the process. Eventually, the very small plant sinks under the weight of its own tuber. Upon settling on the substrate, it quickly forms a root system and a rosette of large leaves. Due to these unique reproduction features, Aponogeton undulatus received the common name “viviparous”. It is better to snap off the stalk so as not to weaken the mother plant.
Bacopa. Propagated by cuttings; simply cut off a side shoot or the apex and plant it in the substrate. The plant is propagated by stem division and separating shoots from the base of the root. Apical shoots 10-15 cm long can be planted directly into the substrate without waiting for roots to appear. The lower leaf whorl is buried in the process. After a short time, roots appear at the base of the leaves.
Barclaya. Propagated by runners formed on a creeping shoot. Vegetatively, *Barclaya* hardly multiplies, with rare exceptions. *Barclaya longifolia* propagates vegetatively more readily. Two or three times a year, the mother bush with numerous basal offshoots is dug up, divided into individual bushes according to the number of growing points, and replanted in the same body of water as sparsely as possible, but no closer than 15-20 cm from each other. Under satisfactory keeping conditions, young plants form on the short rhizome of *Barclaya*. As a result, a dense thicket appears around the mother bush. It can be divided 1-2 times a year depending on the growth rate. Transplanted daughter plants soon begin to grow under satisfactory conditions.
Blyxa. Vegetative propagation is done by cuttings. Over time, aerial roots develop at the base of the branches. A young stem with several rootlets can be safely separated from the mother plant and grown as a cutting. Young plants root poorly.
Blyxa aubertii. A graceful, highly picturesque herbaceous plant: each tuft is an annual plant, and if it is not regularly propagated (which is achieved, among other things, by dividing the rhizome), the population quickly degenerates. Vegetative propagation is quite slow. Well-developed plants form root branches, which can be used for propagation by dividing them into 2-4 parts. Dividing an underdeveloped rhizome is unacceptable, as this not only makes it impossible to obtain full-fledged young plants, but also carries a high probability of death.
Bolbitis. Vegetative propagation—the formation of daughter plants on fern leaves—is rare. On some leaves, spore capsules sometimes form on the underside. However, on leaves separated from the main bush, young plants form; just like in *Microsorum*, they grow on the underside of the leaf. Vegetative propagation is also possible by dividing the rhizome into separate parts. It should be divided into several parts so that each has at least three strong leaves and a growing point. A new plant forms from each separated section of the rhizome with several leaves. The separated parts should be pressed to the bottom using a small stone, under no circumstances burying the rhizome in the substrate.
Cabomba. *Cabomba* propagates by stem or rhizome cuttings. Lateral branches form when the apical part of the main stem is removed. Propagation is vegetative, using stem cuttings. Whole *Cabomba* stems separated from the rhizome or with a piece of it begin to grow very soon in a new place. Dividing stems into parts with 5-6 leaf whorls can also yield new plants, but this process is quite slow. The lower part of the stem with roots, as well as the apical cutting, begin to grow somewhat faster than intermediate cuttings, which halt growth until a root system is formed. Propagate only using whole shoots with rootlets or part of the rhizome, or an apical cutting longer than 20 cm. The lower pair of leaves is planted in the substrate.
Ceratophyllum. Hornwort propagates very easily by stem division. To get a new plant, it is enough to take a very small piece of the stem. It propagates vegetatively, using developed branches from the base of the root, which are carefully separated and planted in the substrate.
Ceratopteris. Vegetative propagation is done via daughter plants formed on the edges of the mother bush’s leaves. The fern propagates easily and originally through the formation of daughter plants on the old leaves of the mother bush, especially at fracture points. After the formation of several small leaves and a root bundle, the daughter plant detaches and floats to the water surface. There it can grow as a floater. It can also be planted in the substrate.
Cryptocoryne. The plant is capable of prolific vegetative propagation. Young plants are separated from the thicket formed around the mother plant after their root system has developed, with 4-5 leaves, and moved to a new location. However, young plants are quite sensitive to changing conditions in a new place (light and water composition). Therefore, only adult plants with a large number of leaves are used for transplantation. It requires rest for propagation, so it is recommended to transplant it as rarely as possible. *Cryptocoryne* does not form dense thickets in soft substrate, so daughter plants are easily separated. A young plant becomes an adult in 7-11 months, after which it readily propagates via substrate daughter shoots, which can be located at a considerable distance. It forms lateral shoots that develop intensively and can soon be separated from the mother plant.
Cryptocoryne longicauda, retrospiralis. Propagated by rhizome division. Substrate shoots develop rarely. Young plants should not be separated from the mother plant until they have grown larger. To this day, this highly decorative plant propagates very poorly in an aquarium. You can cut off the end of the rhizome with the mother plant, and then young plants appear on its remaining part. Offshoots separated from the mother plant must be well-formed; otherwise, their growth stops for a long time in a new place, and at relatively low temperatures, weak lighting, and insufficiently nutrient-rich substrate, they may die.
To speed up the propagation of especially slow-growing species (*Cryptocoryne minima*, *crispatula balansae*, *beckettii*, *aponogetifolia*, *ciliata*, *retrospiralis*, *parva*, *walkeri*, *undulata*), the following method can be tried. All leaves are removed from the plant’s rhizome, and it is set to float on the water surface. After 1-3 weeks, often simultaneously, daughter plants form on it. When they grow a few leaves 4-5 cm long, the rhizome is cut, and the plants are planted in the substrate. If only one plant has formed, it is separated with a small piece of the rhizome, and the remaining part of the rhizome is left floating until the next daughter plant forms.
Cyperus. Vegetative propagation is carried out by rhizome division.
Didiplis. Propagates very easily by stem and thin, delicate rhizome cuttings. Usually, pinched stem tips are planted, which root quickly. For planting, it is better to use stems at least 10 cm long, burying the lower leaf whorl at the base of which the root system forms. However, it is better to propagate by rhizome division, because having a formed root system, the cutting adapts faster in new conditions.
Echinodorus berteroi. Propagation by buds on the rhizome is extremely slow, and only 1-3 new plants can be obtained from a single plant over 2-3 years.
Echinodorus bolivianus. In hard water and with excess light, it shrinks to 2-3 cm in height and propagates poorly. The plant produces numerous runners creeping along the substrate, which appear on the rhizome and extend from the mother plant, reaching a length of 30-50 cm. On each of them, at a distance of 5-10 cm from each other, young, quickly rooting plants grow, which can form solid thickets within a few months. Later, their roots turn green, and then young plants, after separation and planting, establish poorly. Therefore, root shoots must be pressed to the bottom so that young plants immediately root in the substrate and can develop independently.
It is impossible to separate plantlets without damaging the runners, so the runner is divided into parts, on each of which one well-formed plant with 5-6 leaves can be left. Due to the formation of a large number of long shoots, the mother plant is heavily depleted, leaving it with only 3-4 leaves and making it less decorative. Therefore, after proper propagation, excess shoots are recommended to be pruned.
Echinodorus uruguayensis. Propagates only by rhizome division. Adventitious plants often form on the old rhizome creeping along the substrate surface. If they are not separated, bizarre rhizome branches form, ending in leaf rosettes. Such a rhizome can be cut into parts so that each part has a developed plant. Young plants are separated from the rhizome after the formation of 4-5 large leaves and 2-3 rootlets. A 2-3-year-old rhizome yields up to 3-5 young plants per year.
Echinodorus cordifolius, macrophyllus, palaefolius, horizontalis, longiscapus. They are propagated primarily by young plants arising in the inflorescence whorls. The plant propagates by forming daughter plants on flower stalks. At the same time, one plant appears on each runner, rarely two, usually at the very tip. The flower stalk must be submerged in water, pressed to the substrate, and given time to root. After forming several small leaves and a root bundle, the daughter plants can be separated from the mother bush and replanted into the general substrate. After 2 leaves have formed, the young plant with a piece of the stalk is best separated from the mother plant and replanted in a separate small pot with coarse sand, enriched with silt and clay.
On the remaining part of the runner attached to the mother plant, a daughter plant appears again, which is handled in the same way as the previous one. After separating the plant with 4-6 leaves, a daughter plant will appear on the remaining stalk again, only one must be careful since the stalk is fragile. As a rule, they quickly begin to grow and develop well even under unfavorable conditions.
