Gez......plant this!

[Lady Hobbs]

LOLOLOL I know you're supposed to trim the bottoms of swords before planting but come on.........these are like sticking a toothpick in the substrate and hoping to keep them there. I mean, I need something to plant.

I'm thing of taking a circle cut out of a platic milk carton, cutting a hole in it for this "stem" and trying to plant that way. Better ideas would sure be welcome. Maybe planting in a pot?

[Fishalicious]

Did you not get them with some lead weights keeping them together? If so I would just plant with them wrapped around until the roots grow... or you can cut off the round bottom (base) of a water bottle and cut a small hole in the center and gently pull the plant through leaving the root end at the bottom and plant it that way ..when the roots establish you can either leave it or cut the plastic away

[Lady Hobbs]

Now you see why I like you so much!

[Hailey]

thats what all my plants look like when I get them, lol :(

[Wild Turkey]

Thats what the swords from petsmart look like.

[SamAnthrax]

Only if the people who work there trim them before hand, we let the roots stay when we plant them.

[Wild Turkey]

Only if the people who work there trim them before hand, we let the roots stay when we plant them.

i was talking about the ones that come in the plastic in the "root gel"

[NickFish]

I've used normal old grocery store twist ties to hold plants down.

You twist them partially around the base of the plant, but not all the way. You can leave the two ends of the twist tie sticking out about an inch from the plant. You now have a metal weigt and two little hooks to keep the plant down. Repeat as nessesary.
:hmm3grin2orange:

[Algenco]

I've used normal old grocery store twist ties to hold plants down.

You twist them partially around the base of the plant, but not all the way. You can leave the two ends of the twist tie sticking out about an inch from the plant. You now have a metal weigt and two little hooks to keep the plant down. Repeat as nessesary.
:hmm3grin2orange:


Good idea thumbs2:

[DrNic]

Yeah, some twist ties and a couple nuts from the hardware store for weight are usually good for keeping stuff down.

Just be careful with the twist ties. They can rust if they are under the water too long depending on the type you use. I actually have a rust spot the glass in one of my tanks that I can't get off from one of the ties that rusted while resting against the side of the tank.

[HomaridNoob6]

speaking of grocery store twist ties, I sometimes use the ties that come from bread and produce, the plastic flat things. cut the center hole large enough to fit snugly around the stem, and also make sure to do 1 cut into the outside edge that comes very close to the center hole for easy removal later. they provide a bit of surface area you can throw some substrate on and will hold down most plants. Sorry that isn't the greatest explanation, but i couldnt think of how to word it better.

Theres nothing to rust or rot on the plastic bread tie thingys, but I can't vouch for the ink that is used on some, so you may not want to use those.