[plantbrain]

I have not seen any transition issues to date.

Think about this: is a plant stressed, likely to melt etc if you uproot and transplant? Or if you merely submersed the plant?

Are the emergent grow potted plants quick to die?
No, they are fairly tough.

If you have a nice root establishment prior to submersion, this greatly enhances the ability of the plant to adapt quickly. You also have good bacterial cycling in the sediment etc.

Roots are well grown in. Leaves adapt and grow in well after that.

Given an option(which we do in fact have here, unless we place such barriers in our own way), which do you think would work better?

Roots well established, thick lush growth(very cheap to get a few small bits of HC, U grammifolia, Gloss etc and have it grow over a large area quickly and be pre rooted), no algae at all, easy as pie, well adapted, excellent bacterial colonization, no water changes or other issues, no uprooting etc..................
.... or rip the plants out of the clumps and mash those roots back into the gravel and submersed them as well?

I'll take the first option.

HC adapted very well, so did Gloss and U grammifolia.
Crypts, Swords, Sags, and most other amphibious plants=> most of the aquatic we kept are............should do well.

When you flood the tank, then they put out new leaves, but the old leaves will remain.

If you take a emergent plant and repot it, and submerse it, the older leaves tend to die.

Not so if you merely flood.

No matter how this method is sliced, it's still far easier to make a nice rug of plants prior to filling and it's so easy that it might be unsettling initially.

A simple extreme labor saving solution to the high techy woes.

Regards,
Tom Barr