trimming leaves and planting ..... stem plants.

[hamfist]

I asked this question in a recent thread but it received no traction, so maybe it deserves its own thread. .........

When planting newly received emersed growth stem plants could it not be beneficial to leave the leaves on the stem of the section to be buried ? Yes these leaves will rot but could this not be possibly providing a useful ammonia source for the newly introduced plant and promote root development etc ? What evidence do we actually have of the pros and cons of doing this ? I must admit that do trim as Naturescapes_Rocco has suggested in another thread, by removing all leaves apart from a small top section but every time I do, it always makes me wonder about this factor.

I can see all the benefits of not leaving any excess emersed growth leaves on the exposed part of the stem but on the actual buried part of the stem could it possibly be even beneficial ??

 

[CincyScaper]

@Dennis Wong had written about this in his articles but don’t remember exactly which one.

In my own limited experience growing them in aquasoil, I find the cleaner things are the less mulm buildup and algae that I get. In addition as you replace most stems, by uprooting them to prevent root zone compaction I find that the leaves that were buried are half decomposed and again add to the waste release on uprooting which you have to siphon.

To answer your question directly, the buried leaves do act as fertilizer but also add quite bit of organic matter/waster similar to fish poop. If you are into other methods like the walstad and such, I would think that this would be beneficial but in EI/lean dosing aquasoil sort of ways it might just lead to needing more siphoning.

 

[Dennis Wong]

the downsides of detritus/excess decaying leaves far outweigh any benefits. That's the whole reason why cleaning aquasoil substrates is effective, even though we are removing detritus. lack of nutrients is a far away problem in the planted tank world, there are many ways to add nutrients commercial or DIY. Algae on the other hand, is just waiting around the corner.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Those leaves breaking down will add some ammonia sure, but also lots of other DOCs and compounds that algae seemed to evolve to enjoy. I agree with the above, it's better to have a clean substrate area than to have decaying matter in all cases, I think.

 

[Koan]

Yes these leaves will rot but could this not be possibly providing a useful ammonia source

Except that dead leaves don't just produce ammonia. As under*water* plants senesce and discard leaves and stems, those leaves also eject lots of carbohydrates and lipids, what we talk about as DOC / dissolved organic carbon.

This is tasty sustenance for active blooms of local biofilm bacteria, which then give physical and reproductive support to lots of communal-living leaf-surface algaes.

And they give off hormones, chemical flags in the water to which other algae have had hundreds of millions of years to develop sensitivity. They can use these as signals for their dormant spores to germinate and start reproducing in their strands and filaments.

None of these are the aquascapers friend

 

[Kwyet]

As underwear plants senesce and discard leaves and stems,

I can see how these would need extra care, lol!

 

[hamfist]

THanks guys. It makes a lot of sense. Yes, the decaying leaves will release all sorts of other compounds that will basically encourage non-beneficial microbial and algal growth, which is a greater risk to a planted aquarium than any potential benefit of useful nutrient release from the decaying leaves . Adding all the appropriate ferts is pretty simple these days too.
Just getting it all straight in my head. I've only been in this planted tank game seriously for around 4 years now. Not for decades, like many of you. Just building my knowledge and experience bank.

 

[CincyScaper]

THanks guys. It makes a lot of sense. Yes, the decaying leaves will release all sorts of other compounds that will basically encourage non-beneficial microbial and algal growth, which is a greater risk to a planted aquarium than any potential benefit of useful nutrient release from the decaying leaves . Adding all the appropriate ferts is pretty simple these days too.
Just getting it all straight in my head. I've only been in this planted tank game seriously for around 4 years now. Not for decades, like many of you. Just building my knowledge and experience bank.

Have been in this hobby for less than 2 years, but finding this forum and 2hr aquarist website has accelerated my knowledge quite a bit. So thanks to everyone.