Planting Methodology.
Rosette plants must be planted carefully so that the growth point remains above the soil surface. Otherwise, the plant may die and, in any case, will not feel well. Roots should be placed in accordance with their natural growth. Planting in the substrate requires straightening the roots. However, a healthy plant will grow new roots properly, only experiencing a slight delay in development if planted incorrectly. Roots are straightened and trimmed (their length should be less than the thickness of the substrate layer). By shortening them, you stimulate the growth of new roots. Cryptocoryne and Vallisneria send their roots vertically downwards. Plant rosette plants individually, carefully ensuring that the growth point from which young leaves emerge is above the soil level.
Using your index and middle fingers, make an appropriate hole in the substrate and place the plant in it – slightly deeper than the root collar, although the root must remain straightened. Then gently tamp the substrate and carefully pull the plant upward so that the root collar becomes visible. This ensures that even the thinnest root branches lie straight in the substrate. For Cryptocoryne, the root collar can even stick out of the substrate slightly. If necessary, the newly planted specimen can be secured on several sides with small stones that will hold it in place during the first days.
Each plant should have 5-6 sq. cm of bottom area, but the distance between them also depends on the size of each specimen and future growth. Larger species such as C. griffithii, C. ciliata, or C. beckettii require at least 15 cm of space between them. Aponogeton and Echinodorus have flat roots that go down only a few centimeters and grow mostly horizontally. For them, you need to make an oblong, shallow hole with your fingers, fan out the roots inside it, and cover them with the substrate mixture again. The distance between small specimens should be 8-10 cm, and between larger ones 15-30 cm. Some Aponogeton species can have 20-40 leaves and need more free space on all sides.
Plants with horizontally branching rhizomes (e.g., Acorus) should be placed at an angle so that the shoot-producing parts protrude from the substrate. If the acquired plant has weak roots, you can tie it with a thread or rubber band to a small stone and bury it in the substrate. Many hobbyists make mistakes when planting aquarium plants: • Roots should not be bent, but all their branches must lie straight in the substrate; • It is best to first make a deeper hole, plant the plant, and then gently pull it upward.
Planting very small plants. Seeing foreground carpets in aquariums for the first time, people wonder not only how to grow them, but also how to neatly plant them over such a large area. The answer is simple: use very thin, long tweezers. Separate the plant bunches into individual specimens and lay them out in rows on a tray. Take the tray in one hand and the tweezers in the other.
Grab the plant by the roots close to the growth point and, with an arc-shaped movement, push it 1.5-2 cm into the substrate. Release the tweezers and carefully pull them out of the substrate. The plant should stay anchored. This way you can plant many bunches, and they will quickly spread across the entire bottom. The top layer of the substrate should be no larger than 1.5-3 mm; otherwise, plants root very poorly. Never use substrates that increase water hardness – the root system will not get the right conditions for optimal nutrition. After planting, reduce the lighting intensity and duration for a week or two to minimize algae growth, regardless of whether it is a new aquarium or not.
Glossostigma should be planted starting from driftwood and rocks, moving towards the front glass. After planting, you can lightly dust the top with substrate. The biggest mistake when planting Eleocharis is not separating it into individual bunches. It will quickly become overgrown with algae because the old leaves begin to rot and form a dense clump. Trim the leaves, leaving 2-3 cm – this helps new ones grow faster and reduces algae. The “lazy method” is to take a few sprigs of Glossostigma or Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, and while holding a piece of 15×15 cm plastic construction mesh horizontally, simply push them underneath it and weigh the mesh down with a stone at the bottom. Once the plants have rooted, remove the mesh and cut off any unrooted stems.
It is not recommended to plant Hemianthus callitrichoides and Glossostigma elatinoides close together in the foreground, as their uncontrolled growth causes them to crowd out and interweave with each other, requiring frequent removal. Never plant Glossostigma and E. tenellus closer than 3 cm from the glass. Echinodorus tenellus should be planted close together; in this case, the lawn grows slower, but if planted further apart, they root well and grow upwards. Eleocharis pusilla needs to be trimmed to a height of 2-3 cm, but left untouched behind stones, driftwood, and in the shade. Piles of stones with tied bunches of Vesicularia dubiana moss make a wonderful “lawn”.
Foreground plants – lawn: Riccia fluitans, Glossostigma elatinoides, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Echinodorus tenellus, Sagittaria subulata, Vesicularia dubiana, Lilaeopsis mauritiana, Utricularia graminifolia, Pogostemon helferi. Recently, several interesting, very small plants have appeared: Hemianthus callitrichoides – grows like a carpet similar to Glossostigma, but denser, with leaves twice as small; Utricularia graminifolia – somewhat resembling Riccia; Urticularia sp., growing into an extremely dense, impenetrable carpet and climbing over topography; Lilaeopsis mauritiana – a dark variety with straighter leaves; Pogostemon helferi – very unusual curly leaves, height 10 cm.
Stem plants. These plants can grow perfectly fine just floating on the water’s surface (though not all of them), while roots serve only as a way to anchor to the substrate and avoid being washed away by the current. Best growth can be achieved by planting them in the substrate. If you are on a budget, buy only 2-3 stem plants that easily propagate vegetatively, and cut them into cuttings about 10-12 cm long. This way you get three or four plants for the price of one. This is worth doing anyway, because such plants usually root and grow quickly.
If you plant the entire purchased stem, it may be too long, and you will soon have to trim it anyway. Plant them in dense groups of several stems per bunch to form thickets quickly, trimming them to a length of 12 cm. Do not push the stems too deep into the substrate, or they will rot. Planting depth is not critical; usually, a couple of lower leaf whorls are placed under the substrate to anchor the bunch.
Take one to three twigs by the stem and submerge them a few centimeters into the substrate. Trying to plant a twig several times in a row usually leads to breaking the stem. If the plant is in poor shape, it is better to just let it float on the water’s surface until it starts growing and developing roots. Under bright light, it will quickly strengthen and start growing. The downside of this method is that while floating, the plant bends significantly. A few days after planting in the substrate, it will straighten out again. You can press the lower part of the stem to the substrate with a stone and leave it until roots grow, removing the stones later. Some species form roots without being planted in the substrate, so it is enough to secure them with a glass pin or flat stones on the substrate and wait until they take root.
A cutting is a part of a plant shoot with an elongated stem suitable for vegetative propagation. Using a sharp knife or fingernails, separate the top – the apical cutting, which should consist of at least 3 nodes, and then, after removing leaves from the lower 2 nodes, plant it in the substrate so that the leafless nodes are covered, as they will produce roots. If the plant has formed a side shoot, the cutting is separated directly above the node from which the side shoot originates. In addition, the side shoot itself can be separated as a cutting if it has formed at least 3 nodes. If the plant is large enough, the next stem section – a shoot cutting with at least 4 nodes – can be separated in addition to the apical cutting.
The apical cutting starts growing the fastest. The mother plant left in the substrate, possessing a developed root system, will also soon begin to produce side shoots at the nodes. The shoot cutting is the last to start growing.
If the cuttings of stem plants are taken from the middle section, when planted in new substrate, even in the same aquarium, their growth slows down noticeably. Simultaneously with young roots forming at the base of the lower leaf, young shoots (usually two to three) develop from growth buds in the axils of the upper leaves. Growth rate recovers after the young shoots gain sufficient mass. Therefore, cutting off the top of the stem forces the lower part to bush out. The top of the plant should be planted in front of the untouched lower part of the stem, thus preserving the aquarium’s layout.
When reaching the water surface, plants form aerial shoots. Therefore, their tops should be cut off, and the remaining long stem will begin to bush out underwater, producing several side shoots. Besides Hygrophila and Nomaphila, stem division can be used to propagate Ludwigia, Bacopa, Limnophila, Cabomba, Ceratophyllum, Myriophyllum, Alternanthera, and many other plants.
Methodology of planting plants in pots and on additional shelves. Repotting.
Which plants to choose and how to plant them in the aquarium substrate. 
