# Growing Cambomba



## my soggy green thumb (Mar 25, 2004)

Hi everyone,
I have a few questions about growing Cambomba. I have green and purple growing in my tank and it seems to be doing quite well. The problem is that it is a fast grower and needs pruning. I had read somewhere that it doesn't like to have its tops cut off and that a good way to grow it is to weight it rather than actually plant it and then prune from the bottom rather than the top. Is this an acceptable way to grow this plant? Although it seems to be growing that way really well right now, it is definitely sprouting little "roots" in an apparent attempt to root itself into the substrate. Over the long term, will this plant continue to thrive with the pruning from the bottom method? I can't seem to find any other info about this anywhere. Thanks for your help!
~Michelle


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## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

I have never had cabomba but if its like most stem plants you should be okay trimming from the bottom.


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

Been pruning mine in the same way I do every other stem plant for a long time, it has no problem what so ever with this method. Probably a myth started by someone who was unable to grow it :wink: 

It's actually one of the fastest growing stem plants and roots itself very well in no time after being pruned.

Hope that helps
Giancarlo Podio


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

If you're concerned about trimming your stemplants just take your tweezers and push them down into the substrate until you get them the height you desire. That's worked very well for me.

Best,
Phil


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## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

I have kept several varieties of all four of the Cabomba species currently in cultivation, and I can say with some conviction that I've never seen any hiccups in its growth after pruning. It grows almost as fast as Shinnersia when it's happy. The C. palaeformis 'Green' I have can climb about 12 inches in a week.

What I do is cut the top off and replant it. You can leave the bottom if you want more stems, because it will soon send up another shoot (sometimes two).


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