Mangroves

[d2mini]

So the seedlings i put in my 46g started sprouting and I recently moved them to my 130g.
While they were in the sump of my 46g, they grew some wicked long roots and the base of them tended to curve in one direction a bit. So they kind of look like a "j". They were too short to have their tops out of the water so they had to be mounted in foam to keep the tips above water, hence no restriction on the root system. So now I'm wondering if the roots can be trimmed, or will that kill the mangroves? I'd like to plant them in the sand bottom of my new fuge, but that's proving to be difficult with the crazy roots they have now.

 

[yote]

Thats a mighty good question.:dunno:

 

[Bifferwine]

I don't see any harm in cutting their roots -- if they are like other plants, they will be just fine. But no, I guess I can't answer your question definitively. :D

 

[Hiker4twenty]

I would think it would be ok to cut some of the roots off. Think of it this way....I worked landscaping for a few years and every tree, shrub, or flower that had to be planted we would take the shovel and cut about 2"-3" of the rootball off. This was to remove the rootbound ends and stimulate more root growth for a new transplant. Not sure if this is the same for mangroves, but that's just my take on it.

 

[Holby_cat]

most plants do better after a root pruning it makes them produce more roots as long as you dont cut too much off then you can stunt them and they wont grow for awhile or worse i say try a few and see what happends

 

[d2mini]

Ok cool, i'll give it a go.

Another question i have is about the opposite end.
One of them never sprouted. The tip of the seedling is black and charred looking.
But the bottom grew roots. Any idea if I can clip off the top and get it to grow?