You know what really bugs me about the aquarium hobby? The prices. I mean, I’m a teacher – I make about as much money as a medieval peasant, and when you’re looking at spending twelve bucks for a single stem of Rotala, it starts to feel a bit ridiculous. That’s probably what first got me thinking about propagation, if I’m being honest. I was standing in my local fish store, doing mental math on how much it would cost to fill out the background of my classroom tank, and I had this moment where I thought “there’s got to be a better way to do this.”
Best decision I ever made in this hobby, hands-on. Not just because of the money I’ve saved (though that’s been significant), but because propagating your own plants completely changes how you understand aquascaping. It’s like the difference between buying a cake and actually learning to bake – suddenly you understand what’s really happening under the hood.
I’ll never forget my first successful propagation. Had this scraggly piece of Java moss that I’d basically written off as a loss – it was looking pretty rough, covered in algae, generally disappointing. But I decided to trim off the healthy parts and see what happened. Three weeks later, I had these beautiful bright green patches growing where I’d planted the trimmings. Sounds simple now, but at the time it felt like magic. Here I was, creating new plants from what I thought was plant trash.
That success got me curious about what else I could propagate, and that’s when I really started paying attention to how different plants actually grow. Before then, I’ll admit, I was pretty much just buying plants and hoping they’d survive. I wasn’t really thinking about their biology or growth patterns – just “plant goes in tank, hopefully plant stays alive.” But once you start propagating, you have to understand what each species actually needs to thrive.
Take something like Amazon sword plants. I had one in my classroom tank that was doing okay – not amazing, but alive – and then one day I noticed these little plantlets growing on long runners extending from the main plant. The kids were fascinated by it, kept asking if those little plants were babies. Which they essentially were! I let them develop for a few weeks until they had decent root systems, then carefully separated them and planted them around the tank. Within a couple months, I had five healthy sword plants instead of one.
That experience taught me to actually observe what my plants were doing instead of just maintaining them. Plants are constantly trying to reproduce – that’s their whole evolutionary purpose – and if you learn to recognize the signs, you can help them do it successfully in your tank.
Stem plants turned out to be the easiest thing to propagate, which was great for building confidence. Plants like Rotala, Ludwigia, even basic stuff like hornwort – you literally just cut a healthy stem, stick it in the substrate, and it’ll usually grow roots and take off. I started doing this regularly just as part of tank maintenance. When plants would get too tall and need trimming anyway, instead of throwing away the cuttings, I’d replant the healthy tops and create new plants.
My students love watching this process. We’ve turned it into a whole lesson about plant reproduction and growth hormones. When I trim stems and replant them, I have the kids predict where roots will develop and track the growth over time. It’s way more engaging than just reading about plant biology in a textbook.
But not everything propagates the same way, and figuring that out took some trial and error. I killed more than a few plants in my early propagation attempts because I was treating everything like stem plants. Tried to propagate some Cryptocoryne by just cutting pieces off – spoiler alert, that doesn’t work. Crypts reproduce through runners and daughter plants, kind of like the sword plants but underground. You have to wait for natural divisions to form, then carefully separate them with their own root systems.
Learned that lesson the hard way when I butchered a perfectly healthy Crypt trying to force divisions that weren’t ready. The whole plant melted – just completely dissolved over the course of a week. Had to explain to my students what “crypt melt” was and why sometimes plants just give up when they’re stressed. Not my finest teaching moment, but at least it was educational.
Rhizome plants like Java fern and Anubias were another learning curve. These don’t send out runners or grow from stem cuttings – they have these thick horizontal stems called rhizomes that you can divide, but you have to be really careful about it. Each division needs to have some healthy rhizome and some leaves to survive. I practiced on some Java fern at home before trying it in the classroom, using a sharp razor blade to make clean cuts through the rhizome.
The key with rhizome plants is patience. They grow slowly compared to stem plants, so you can’t expect quick results. I’ve got some Anubias divisions I made six months ago that are just now starting to put out new growth. But once they establish, they’re incredibly hardy and basically indestructible.
Having the right tools makes a huge difference. Cheap scissors from the dollar store don’t cut it – literally. Jagged cuts damage plant tissue and create entry points for bacteria and algae. I invested in a decent pair of aquascaping scissors, the kind with long handles that let you reach into the tank easily. Also got some fine-tip tweezers for planting small cuttings precisely. These tools have paid for themselves many times over in successful propagations.
One thing I wish someone had told me earlier is how important plant nutrition is for successful propagation. Newly planted cuttings are basically starting from scratch – they need to develop new root systems while keeping their existing leaves alive. That takes a lot of energy. I started using root tabs when planting new divisions, and the difference in success rate was dramatic. Plants that might have struggled for weeks would take off within days when they had access to nutrients right at their roots.
Liquid fertilizers help too, especially for plants that absorb nutrients through their leaves. I dose my tanks regularly now, something I used to think was unnecessary. But when you’re trying to grow plants from cuttings, that extra nutrition can mean the difference between success and failure.
The classroom tanks have become self-sustaining ecosystems because of propagation. I rarely buy new plants anymore – just maintain what I have and let natural reproduction fill in bare spots. My home tanks have become breeding grounds for classroom plants. I’ll try new species at home, figure out how to propagate them successfully, then introduce them to the school tanks once I know they’ll work.
My garage has basically become a plant nursery at this point. Got shallow trays where I root stem plant cuttings, containers for storing healthy plant material, even a small tank set up specifically for growing out plant divisions. My wife thinks I’ve gone a bit overboard, but she can’t argue with the results when she sees how lush the tanks look.
The educational value of propagation can’t be overstated. Students see the entire life cycle of plants, from cutting to establishment to maturity to reproduction. They understand that plants are living organisms with specific needs, not just decorations. We’ve incorporated plant propagation into our units on genetics, reproduction, even basic chemistry when we test water parameters and nutrient levels.
Plus there’s something deeply satisfying about growing your own plants. Every piece of vegetation in my tanks has a story – where it came from, how it was propagated, what challenges it overcame to establish. It creates this personal connection to the aquascape that you just don’t get when you buy everything ready-made from the store.
Not everything works perfectly, of course. I’ve had propagation attempts fail for mysterious reasons, healthy-looking cuttings that just never took root, divisions that looked promising but slowly declined. But that’s part of the learning process, and honestly, the failures teach you as much as the successes.
If you’re just starting out with propagation, begin with easy stem plants like Rotala or basic species like hornwort. Build your confidence with plants that are forgiving and grow quickly. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can move on to more challenging species and techniques. The key is patience, observation, and not being afraid to experiment. Your wallet will thank you, and you’ll understand your tanks in a completely different way.
Tom teaches middle-school science in Portland and uses aquascaping to bring biology to life for his students. His classroom tanks double as living labs—and his writing blends curiosity, humor, and a teacher’s knack for explaining complex stuff simply.
