# Cut the leaf off, now! or Later?



## Dryn (Sep 6, 2007)

I understand that when you take a plant that has grown in emersed conditions the emersed leaves die back underwater because their cuticle layer is too thick to "breathe" underwater, and when you emerse a submersed leaf it too dies back because the cuticle layer is too thin to protect the leaf. 

SO, the leaf will die back if you emersed a submersed plant or submerse an emersed plant. The question is when to cut that doomed foilage off?

I usually leave the leaf on the plant until it browns and dies, but as it decomposes, it releases nutrients back into the water and I don't want that. Wouldn't it be better to just cut off the leaf whenever you change the plant's environment like that? 

I suppose that the plant has "food" stored in its roots or rhizome so that new foilage can be grown and it wouldn't matter when I cut the leaf off at all, but I want the opinion of some other people who have been through this process.

Additionally, I have noticed with Anubias barteri plants, new leaves (bright green) don't die back. Is this because the cuticle layer hasn't formed one way or the other?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

You are right about plants stockpiling nutrients in the rhizomes/roots/stem. Plants are capable of stockpiling nutrients in nearly all of their tissue so they can later remove it for growth. So, the amount of nutrients stored in leaves is not insignificant and it is probably best if you leave the leaves attached until all the nutrients are removed. The color change signifies that most of the usable nutrients have been removed to other parts of the plant.

In emersed setups plant the stems horizontally. The closer the leaves are to the wet soil substrate the longer they will last (without drying out) and help the plant gather light before it puts out new leaves.

Anubias probably does not drop its leaves when submersed because it is a very slow growing plant and the cuticle layer does not reduce the gas exchange to a level that damages the leaf.


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## anhtu402 (Jan 11, 2009)

Interesting. Thank you for the great info. I just bought a few plants and everyone have been telling me it's emersed plants. But , I want submersed plants.....

Something for me to know... Thanks again!!


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Zapins said:


> In emersed setups plant the stems horizontally. The closer the leaves are to the wet soil substrate the longer they will last (without drying out) and help the plant gather light before it puts out new leaves.


It also possible to plant or prop up the stiffer plants and baste them a few times a day assuming the humidity is high. I've done that with _Staurogyne_ and a few others. Also, you can just get cuttings from plants that have grown above the water in your tank.


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## Dryn (Sep 6, 2007)

I recently hacked a thick rug of java fern up into pieces and super-glue jell-ed them to a piece of driftwood and put half-in and half-out of the water in a paladarium. I mist the leaves once a day. About half of them are in the water, and so far, not a single leaf or even leaf tip had shriveled up or died.
I plan on letting the leaves sit in the tank for a few weeks or months before planting them in the boggy soil.


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