How to Attach Plants to Driftwood and Rock

The short answer

Some of the best aquarium plants do not go in the substrate at all, they attach to hardscape. Anubias, java fern, bucephalandra and mosses are epiphytes: they grow from a rhizome or creep over surfaces and feed from the water. You attach them with either a dab of superglue gel (fast) or a wrap of cotton thread (traditional), always keeping the rhizome exposed and never buried. Within a few weeks they grip on with their own roots. This is how you get plants growing up driftwood and across stone, the signature look of a natural aquascape.

Which plants attach

Only epiphytes attach to hardscape. Trying to glue a stem plant or a rosette plant will not work, they need substrate. The classic attachers are:

Plant

Anubias Barteri Nana

Anubias barteri var. nana

West Africa (Cameroon)

Plant

Java Fern

Microsorum pteropus

Southeast Asia

Plant

Bucephalandra (mixed)

Bucephalandra sp.

Borneo (rheophytic)

Anubias, java fern (and cultivars like Windelov and Trident) and bucephalandra all grow from a horizontal rhizome, the thick green stem the leaves and roots sprout from. The golden rule: never bury the rhizome, or it rots. Attach it to wood or stone with the rhizome fully exposed.

Plant

Java Fern 'Windelov'

Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov'

Selectively bred cultivar (originated in Denmark)

Mosses attach differently, they simply creep over any surface you fix them to.

Moss

Java Moss

Taxiphyllum barbieri

Southeast Asia

Moss

Christmas Moss

Vesicularia montagnei

Asia (tropical)

Method 1: superglue gel (fast)

The quickest, most reliable method. Cyanoacrylate gel, plain superglue gel, is inert once cured and completely aquarium-safe. Use the gel, not the runny liquid.

1. Take the plant out and pat the attachment point (the rhizome, or a bare root) dry-ish.
2. Put a small dab of gel on the rhizome or the spot on the wood or stone.
3. Press the plant onto the hardscape and hold for a few seconds.
4. Done. It holds instantly, and the plant grows its own attachment roots over the next month.

The gel turns white where it contacts water, which is normal and hides once the plant grows over it. Keep glue off the leaves and off the growing tip of a rhizome.

Method 2: thread or fishing line (traditional)

If you would rather not glue, tie the plant on.

1. Hold the rhizome against the wood or stone.
2. Wrap cotton thread or clear fishing line around both, snugly but not crushing.
3. Tie it off. Over three to six weeks the plant grips on with its own roots.
4. Cotton thread rots away on its own; fishing line is inert and can stay or be snipped out once the plant has attached.

Attaching moss

Moss makes a surface, so it is worth doing well. Spread a thin layer over the wood or stone, a thick clump rots and dies underneath. Fix it with tiny spots of superglue gel dotted across the surface, or tie it on with cotton thread wound back and forth. Then trim it as it grows, which pushes it to branch and form a dense, flat carpet rather than long stringy growth. Moss-covered wood is one of the fastest ways to make a new scape look mature. See java moss vs christmas moss to choose.

Placement tips

• Attach anubias and ferns at an angle so the leaves catch the light and face the front.
• Cover a rhizome's bare roots in a shaded nook, they will hide themselves as they grip.
• Build up layers: moss low and creeping, anubias and buce as mid accents, java fern reaching up.
• Think about the composition as you attach, epiphytes on hardscape are how you soften and green a scape without touching the substrate.

FAQ

The quick answers are above. Next, see how to plant an aquarium for the substrate plants, and the hardscape database for choosing wood and stone.