Plants Touching Glass?

[frankrom]

Hey Guys...

Is it a good idea to cut lives which are touching the glass? will it harm the plant?

It will rot the plant wont it?

Thanks,

FR

[davidadelp]

It wont hurt a thing its just a pain for you to look at. I have a vine I cant think of the name of it, its growing on bare glass its crazy

[therizman2]

It really depends on the plant. Some are fine touching glass, some rot quickly. Most people do it for aesthetic reasons, or because it is a pain to have plants falling out when you open the tank. Just try to make sure you trim back to a node.

[Ed]

I have a couple of bromeliads that have leaves that get too long and touch the glass, I simply trim them back with a sharp pair of scissors and disinfect between tanks so I don't have to worry about unwanted transfer. I leave the leaves on the bottom of the cage as an addition to the leaf litter.

Ed

[Shinosuke]

Originally Posted by Ed

I have a couple of bromeliads that have leaves that get too long and touch the glass, I simply trim them back with a sharp pair of scissors and disinfect between tanks so I don't have to worry about unwanted transfer. I leave the leaves on the bottom of the cage as an addition to the leaf litter.

Ed

I didn't know broms dealt with that. Do you trim the leaves back to the base, is there some kind of node, or do you just cut off whatever's in the way?

[Ed]

Originally Posted by Shinosuke

I didn't know broms dealt with that. Do you trim the leaves back to the base, is there some kind of node, or do you just cut off whatever's in the way?

Just whatever is in the way.

Ed

[KeroKero]

Bromeliads don't have nodes, they only have the single crown. If you don't like the look of just cutting it short of where it hit the glass like Ed mentioned, cut it closer to the base of the plant.

Plants that rot quickly from it tend to be fuzzy/hairy/velvety plants like gesneriads and some begonias, or plants that have a tendency to melt, like the rest of the begonias that aren't hairy, gesneriads, peperomias, and sometimes pilea. It can be just a leaf, or spread to the whole plant depending on the plant, your conditions, or both. If in doubt, cut the leaf just short of the glass so it doesn't contact. The greatest risk of rotting is with glass that has condensation on it for long periods - if it dries out within 2-3 hours of bring sprayed and is completely dry before lights out I don't even have the picky plants rotting out when touching the sides.