Trim Amazon Sword plant roots?

[CACAdmin]

I'm planning to reaquascape my 70g (in the next few weeks). The centerpiece is a huge Amazon Sword. Last time I replanted it, the roots were about 6-7 inches long. I know they are at least 3 inches longer than that now as it appears the roots have no place to go and are now pushing the plant upwards (roots now extend about 3 inches above the gravel ).

My question is, can I safely trim them and by how much?

[Killiejoe]

I am pretty sure you can trim them down to about 2 inches without any issues. I have trimmed other roots of some of my plants and not had any issues.

[CACAdmin]

Thanks. The roots didn't end up being any longer than last time, it's the crown that's huge (nothing I can really do about that). But good to know that I could probably have done so.

[Melody]

Couldn't you wedge in a pot that's a few inches deeper than the substrate, with the bottom of the pot on glass and the gavel around it? At least then it would be covered but the pot wouldn't stick out like a sore green thumb. You can get wide terracotta pots that are relatively shallow, but deeper than most substrate is. I use several in a 90G.

[CACAdmin]

So now she comes up with this tidbit of wisdom. I may try that the next time... for now I'm definitely planning on leaving things in that tank the way they are... I made a big enough mess the first time.

However, having spoken to a plant guru friend about the mess I made in my tank, he gave me a great suggestion. With plants with large root systems like my big amazon sword, never just pull the plant out because you pull up all the accumulated 'soil' in the substrate. Snip the roots at about the 2 inch mark around the plant while they are still in the substrate and then lift the plant out. The roots that remain in the soil decay and provide nutrients for other plants in the tank.