Crinum Calamistratum

[Rlon35]

My planted aquarium shop was all out of these plants, so I persuaded them to sell me the one from their show tank, the biggest and most beautiful onion I have ever seen (35 US dollars). Well, it is way too big for my 55 gallon , and it looks plain awful. I know you prune it like a sword, but is it truly a bad idea to cut down the length uniformly, of all of the stringy leaves? I have it in the center of my tank, and it looks like a mess that is just going everywhere. If I could take some of the outside leaves off and shorten the rest to about 2 feet, it would look much better, but I heard the leaves may die is you trim them back/shorter. Anyone have much experience with this plant?

 

[RadaR]

Too much thinking.
If the leaves are too long, cut them.
Cut them close to the base with sharp (preferably curved) scissors.
Ensure everything else is still in check (nutrients, CO2, circulation, water changes etc) and you'll be fine.

 

[Rlon35]

Too much thinking.
If the leaves are too long, cut them.
Cut them close to the base with sharp (preferably curved) scissors.
Ensure everything else is still in check (nutrients, CO2, circulation, water changes etc) and you'll be fine.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sorry, my writing out thinks myself. Basically, I want to give the crinum a haircut, not just trim at the base. I want to cut it so that each leaf just hits the surface, but I have read that they will die off if I do this. With vals, I was able to trim back the more developed plants with no problem. This plant is about as developed as it gets...lol.

 

[RadaR]

Should be fine if you use sharp scissors. If not, it doesn't matter. The bulb can produce more leaves even if it doesn't have any (if you need to hack them all off).