Trimming R. macranda 'small leaf'

[Naomi Mizumoto <naomizu at pacbell_net>]

Hi, All!

Queen of tiny tanks here, again ;-). I happened across something new 
(again) at my LFS: Rotala macranda 'small leaf.' I've wanted to try the 
regular R. macranda for a while, but never had the room. I've been looking 
for something red to go in my 2.5-gallon plant tank and this 'small leaf' 
alternative was too perfect to pass up, even though I'm probably going to 
end up killing it. Never hurts to try (except maybe the plant)...

What I wanted to know was about trimming it: of course I'd replant the top 
cuttings, but if the bottom portion is left, will it grow back healthy 
stems? I ask because I've discovered that with some stem plants (like M. 
umbrosum) it's just not an effective method of propagation. I'd imagine 
that whatever works for R. macranda would also work for the 'small leaf' 
variety. So how do y'all propagate R. macranda?

Thanks.

-Naomi