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A while ago I posted a plant pic which was identified as a crypt wendtii.

The plant is doing very well...I'm wondering if I can pull/remove some of the sections and replant them? Or would this cause problems for the plant?

A recent shot of the plant:



Theresa_M attached this image:


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It should be fine, just remove what parts you want. Of course being a crypt it will probably fuss and melt it's leaves. No worries, as you know they grow back.

Yep, you can seperate out those little plantlets that you see growing in bunches. They'll probably be attached with runners.

Melting will probably be kept to a minimum if you're keeping the plantlets in the same tank, but it might take a few weeks to re-establish itself before you see any vigorous (crypt-wise vigorous ) growth.

Congratulations, Theresa! You have grown a "mother" cryp in your tank. A mother crypt is a mature plant that exhibits strong bushy growth then sends out "runners" that develop into plantlets. The mother plant is often made up of 4 or more individual plants, I can count at least 5 plants that comprise the mother in your picture.

You can separate a plantlets from the mother plant by gently uprooting one of the plantlets then cutting the rhizome (white stem) that connects it to the mother. The rhizome is the heart and soul of the crypt. As long as it is healthy the crypt will survive. Just be sure that the rhizome is covered with substrate to anchor the plantlet when you move it.

"Melt back" is a condition that another poster used. It is the crypts way to tell you that it hates the environment that you have provided. The leaves literally melt into white ooze. If this conditions occurs, be sure to clean out the dead foliage. The plant will resprout when it like your tank conditions.

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Hi,

I posted this a while ago, but here is a tip I got from an expert crypt grower, none of mine have ever melted down and I constantly move them around.

When you un plant the crypt, and separate the plantlets, just trim the root 1/3 back of the mother plant, don't plant it right away, rinse the whole plant in tap water and let it float on a bucket for 15 minutes. Then rinse it again and re-plant.

What it's known as "melting" is actually a defense mechanism that all crypts have, when threatened, they secrete a poison to kill an invading plant, their leaves aren't tolerant to this substance, but the root system is, so that's why they melt and re-grow.

If you do that, you are going to first rinse off this substance, then by trimming the roots you trigger the "survival mode" of the plant, which will encourage the plant to grow, not melt, and by letting it sit in water, any substance left will be diluted, not affecting the leave system.

This has also worked for several members of the forum.

I would it well alone until you have to do a full tank rebiuld.
It is a fantastic well developed plant. What you can do is when a new plant has established away from the Mother plant cut the joining runner so that the new plant can grow on its own. This will give you more plants yet still keep the origional mother plant to its full size.

Keith

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Thanks so much for the replies and great info

What I find funny is this was originally a small, unhealthy-looking leftover piece from another crypt. I planted it but didn't have much hope it would survive.

Any replanting I'd do with planlets would be in the same tank but at least I'm prepared for possible melt.



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There is water at the bottom of the ocean