Glosso growth
 

So I have glossy growing in my tank but instead of carpeting, it's growing straight up. I know it's the light intensity. Does any body know at what par it grows sideways?

Mine is at 50-60 par at the substrate. I wonder if I should bother with messing the the lights since I have things the ways I want (little algae).

It's about the same here:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps945199d9.jpg

And here it's 40-50 umol

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u.../180cm26th.jpg

It's not the light.

Do you notice a difference in the layouts vs your tank? Any overshadowing by other plants?

Mow it and replant the tops. It will eventually start to carpet.
I have 85 par at my substrate and it was doing the same thing. With the constant mowing, it started growing sideways.

its not as much about the light intensity as u think yet everyone tends to think that way. how often are u trimming it? ive had glosso grow strait up with some super high light after that it kinda debunks just light as the key just like tom shows in his tanks same general light output. best way i can get people to think about it is like hair if you dont comb your hair it will do its own thing but after a little of combing it the same way it begins to grow that way, same with mowing lawns if you go the same way every time it will lay down and not get a good cut but if u cross cut it will grow strait and fill in much thicker.

Hey, you might've heard somewhere online that glosso grows up in low-light situations. While this is true, it isn't always the case. Plants grow toward their sources of light, and once a plant grows up there's really no reason for it to grow sideways to reach the light.

Follow Chaolord's advice and replant until you have a nice carpet.

When you say mow it....can you actaully just take scissors to it and go to town? similar to HC? or do you need to get into there and trim things more carefully?

Yeah, this has been pretty solid advice so far for me too. Mine didnt even act like it wanted to grow sideshoots until it was trimmed. It took a few times and some patience to get it to actually carpet.

Oh thanks. I have been trimming a few times now but not too close to the substrate. I'll try more severe trimming next time.

I kind of like the look of it growing straight up. Ill let some grow sideways and some straight up.

was it emersed?
emersed glosso just makes a beeline for the surface when planted back into an aquarium. takes it a while to "give up" and start carpeting.

It was emersed. It's been in the tank for about 3 weeks now.

Yeah, I would give it more time and trim it just above the second internode.

so I am guessing this means you need to trim carefully above the nodes....not just taking scissors to it?

also if your are using any of the AZOO plant hormones as they call it, stop using them asap as they cause this as well

What I meant was not specifically trimming each one specifically at the second internode, but just to trim it fairly low to prompt it to throw side shoots. The second would be a safe bet so you dont kill it. A plant that branches like this has a tendancy to sprout a side shoot from the first healthy internode just below the trim. If you get too close to the second, then it still has a chance to sprout from the 1st. If you trim all the way to the first, them you run a higher risk of it just plain melting. And once your second internode shoots creep and root on their own you can trim a little bit lower if you're really picky about how low and uniform you wish for it to look. :)

awesome! thanks for the clarification! im always so unsure about trimming carpeting plants