Echinodorus propagation

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
Subject: Echinodorus propagation
From: Michael Eckardt <mike at argosys_odg.com>
Date: Tue, 28 May 96 11:51:34 EDT

Propagation of Echinodorus sp.

	After my E.osiris became a bit leggy, and the older leaves
died as soon as a new one developed, I decided to be radical:
I pulled up the plant and cut its 2.5" long  rhizome into two pieces.
The one piece with its (two) leaves I put  back into the tank, while
the other went into a jar with a fairly strong solution of garden fertilizer
(for transplants) after I sprinkled some rooting hormone on it. I left
it in the jar for a few days , maybe for a week.  When I started to
worry whether the rhizome might rot (there was some cloudy stuff
forming), I rinsed it and replanted it again in the aquarium, just deep
enough to leave the top exposed. 
	After three weeks I noticed  new leaf tips growing all along
the length of the rhizome. There were about 5 or 6 spots were the leaves
grew from. Now, some of the leaves are about 3" tall, and are accompanied
by a second and a third leaf, while others are still small, but growing.

	Can I expect a number of rosettes forming on this rhizome, or
will one of these "pre-rosettes" eventually inhibit the growth of the others?
	If so, when should I cut the rhizome again so that I don't compromise
the nutrient reserves to the new plantlets?
 
Mike