Inch plant whose scientific name is Tradescantia Zebrina is a common houseplant, also known as Wandering Jew and spiderwort.
You can buy Inch Plant on Amazon:
The plant has beautifully colored leaves on hanging branches.
I have been growing Inch plant in aquariums with roots in water for many years.
Please check on this plant in my previously published videos.
Usually, I take cuttings from a strong healthy plant.
I prefer to make cuttings with 3-5 leaves off the growing tip of the branch.
Also, we can use the middle part of the branch.
Though, it would take more time for this cutting to develop a new growing branch.
It's always better to take a cutting with a growing tip like this one.
Remove the bottom leaves from the cutting.
Keep all leaves of the Inch plant above water to prevent water discoloration.
In this example, I am going to reuse the entire plant to make cuttings.
I want to replace the entire old plant.
This small cutting has just 2 leaves and it already has a new branch growing.
And this one looks prettier with many leaves, but it does not have a growing tip or branches as of yet.
So, it is not as promising as the previous one.
I am going to dispose of the remaining part of the plant with roots.
This way I will grow many new plants instead of an old one.
And here you can see the roots of the old Inch plant.
Let's put some cuttings in this 3 liter jar with fish.
The planter on top of the aquarium reduces water evaporation and keeps leaves above water.
I still have five more cuttings to make a home for.
For the record, here is the aquarium with cuttings on January 25th, 2020.
Land plants growing with roots in water feed on waste dissolved in the water, keeping the aquarium healthy and making it sustainable.
Next, I am going to put these two cuttings of Inchplant into a 1 liter sustainable aquarium with snails.
Make sure the ends of the cuttings stay in the water.
Add dechlorinated water as necessary to the level.
It is very important to keep the bottom parts of tubes of the planter above the water at all times.
Snails and aquatic plants need access to atmospheric air to breath!
Here is an example of a 1 liter sustainable aquarium with Inchplant on top.
It is more than 6 month old plant with branches.
It has well developed roots that look very pretty.
I keep seed shrimp and scuds in this sustainable aquarium garden.
Those critters feed on algae and plants growing here.
So all I have to do is add water once in a while.
And enjoy the view!
No water changes, no filters, no feeding.
Talk about low tech aquariums - sustainable aquarium are NO TECH aquariums.
The land plants growing with roots in water are an important part of this ecosystem.
Removing old plants and adding new cuttings is part of the care.
I am going to add this cutting right here.
And let's add water to the level.
I keep snails in all my aquariums.
Pond and Bladder snails, and Ramshorn snails fit nicely into sustainable aquarium gardens ecosystems.
They feed on algae that grows in water.
And plants and algae feed on waste produced by snails.
February 1st, 2020
It takes about one week for roots to start growing on new cuttings of Inch plants.
Inch plant is one of the easiest and fastest growing from cuttings land plants.
The cuttings of Inch plant have one of the highest success growth rates.
I add fresh cuttings into newly set aquariums to help control algae growth.
In a couple months, Inch plant cuttings grow long enough to make new cuttings.
Always make the stem long enough to keep it in the water.
Remove the bottom leaf or two if you have to.
The new cuttings can go to the same or into another aquarium.
In this example, I put it into another aquarium.
I like to grow many different plants in each aquarium garden.
The Inch plant likes natural light.
I keep all my aquarium gardens next to the window, away from direct sunlight.
Making cuttings from one plant, I get it growing in a couple dozen aquariums in one year’s time.
Inch plant branches look gorgeous in 1 liter aquarium gardens.
Look at this beauty!
Or better wait until you see it growing in large aquariums!
Here we go.
My kid does not trim his Inch plants and that is what he gets...
It is an 8 liter aquarium with wild Minnows on January 21st, 2021
And here is the same aquarium with Endlers livebearers on April 18th, 2021
You can see new branches grow nicely.
The old branches hang down to the floor making a very pretty sight!
Kind of making me jealous a bit.
This is more than one year old plant.
Interestingly, stems of Inch plants are strong enough to hold this heavy load.
This branch is about 45inch or 115 cm long!
The Inch plant is the easiest and a very attractive plant I grow in aquariums all year around.
And wish you grow it too!
Have fun and happy aquarium gardens :)
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