Just bought a few plants. 2 came with lead weights wrapper about the base holding things together. The other, an Amazon Sword came with it's base in a tiny pot.
What should I do doing with these once in the tank? At the moment I've just dropped them into the tank as they are. Should I be removing them from the pots and lead?
Yes, remove the lead weights and remove the Amazon from its pot.
What kind of plants are the ones in weights? I'm going to assume they are stemplants, which are usually packed like this. At least, I am going to hope they are aquatic, at the very least. Many terrestrial plants (Aluminum plant, Purple waffle, Cherry hedge, etc) are often sold as aquatic stem plants and are packaged in the same way. I wouldn't be able to tell you for sure unless I had a picture. If they are indeed stemplents, then you remove these plants from the lead weights. Check then, the bottom for decayed leaves and rotted stems. Cut any of this off with good, clean, steal scissors. Once you have a healthy bunch of stems, prepare each stem by stripping the bottom inch of its leaves, careful not to damage the stem. This is what you'll stick in your substrate. Then arrange the stems in groups of 1-3 stems and plant into the substrate gently. This way, you'll give stems ample space and they will have leaves all the way to the bottom. Try to form groupings with the stems and be sure that groups are not too crowded. When a stem gets too tall, simply clip to the desired length and replant the cutting, using the above preparation method. The cutting contains the terminal growing axis, which makes for a very nice plant. The clipped stem will then usually branch and form two stems. This makes the resulting plant more bushy.
The amazon needs a good space in the tank. They are heavy root feeders and will send extensive roots into the substrate. First, using good scissors, remove it from the pot and separate that yucky planting wool stuff from the roots. Be careful, don't break healthy white roots! Then, cut and remove any damages leaves (yellow, brown, wilted, etc), and remove roots that are not beige with clean, white tips. They should also feel pretty full and firm. These are healthy roots. If you see black or brown mushy stuff, get rid of it, it's dead and pretty nasty stuff. Stinks. Plant it deep enough that the root ball is completely submerged, yet the growing axis or crown is not. If you can, do insert a rootab (fertiliser) near the root system. This will help the Amazon along.
How big is the tank and what's your lighting?
llj
