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Re: Moving an Amazon Sword

> From: dswanson at banyan_pfc.forestry.ca (Darin Swanson)
> I would appretiate any advice on proper procedure for moving,
> pruning and splitting (?) of this plant.
> 

Pruning: remove the outside leaves from this or other rosette plants
when they get too big or start to have algae by pinching or snipping
them close to the base. Any remaining stalk will begin to decay after
a time and may get algae. You can pull this off when it gets soft as
part of regular maintenance.

Transplanting: remove about half the length of the roots leaving only
enough to hold it securely in place. Using your finger press a hole 
in the substrate and insert the roots as deep as you can into this hole.
With a clay or fine substrate additive, this needs to be done with a
minimum of disturbance to avoid stirring it up. I hold the roots 
between two fingers and thumb and poke my finger tips into the soil.
After back filling, gently pull the plant up until the crown of the
roots is just at or slightly above the level of the gravel. If you left
enough roots, it stays there; if too much, the over long roots tend to
poke out.

Propagating: healthy plants frequently send out a "runner" or stalk
with a tiny plantlet growing at nodes along its length. Sometimes this 
floats toward the surface. You can either root this as attached or 
wait til the plant is large enough (about 10 leaves), detach and 
plant as before.

 - Steve