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I've never had much luck with regular house plants, so when I started adding live plants not too long ago to my crestie's tank, I didn't actually expect them to live. So imagine my surprise when not only did they live, but they are growing really well!

When I first added these she took a nose dive into the dirt when she tried to jump on this particular plant. Now it is big enough and has enough root structure to support her weight jumping and climbing on it. These two (same type) are about 4 inches from the top of the tank (it's a 29g). How do I "prune" these plants without killing them? Is there anyway to prune it and replant the parts so they grow more plants (excuse my naive questions - I have never kept so much as a garden...)?

The little dead end of the leaf in this picture has been there awhile (and thankfully not spread). Do I break it off or leave it?

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1.0.0 Thoroughbred
1.0.0 Mali Uromastyx
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Crested Gecko
1.2.0 German Shepherds
1.2.0 Cats
0.1.1 Birds (Cockatiel and Conure)
1.1.0 Rabbits
0.0.2 Yellow bellied sliders
3 Fish tanks (SW and FW)

i had those plants for a while. can't remember their common name. i do remember that it's not a true member of the bamboo family, though many places try and pass them off as such. they're pretty easy to grow. brown is uderwatered, yellow is over watered. they like to dry out slightly before being watered again. this will vary per your light levels and temps. if light only comes from one side, then rotate it otherwise it will grow lopsided. trim it just like bamboo. a good healthly one will branch out into nice thick and wide leaves. not enough light will remain narrow and limpish. like i said, easy to care for and hard to kill. some varieties will have waxyish leaves, some have a bright yellow strip, it's all the same plant. they get pretty big if you let 'em go. many times i found my cats climbing the taller stalks.
-julie

I'm sorry, did I read that right? You said your CATS were climbing on the plant - as in furry creatures with claws, teeth, etc...?? LOL

How do I keep the plants from growing that big? If I prune from the top, will it kill them?
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1.0.0 Thoroughbred
1.0.0 Mali Uromastyx
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Crested Gecko
1.2.0 German Shepherds
1.2.0 Cats
0.1.1 Birds (Cockatiel and Conure)
1.1.0 Rabbits
0.0.2 Yellow bellied sliders
3 Fish tanks (SW and FW)

My highschool has a green house and in a class I am taking we take cuttings from plants and grow them into more plants. We cut off a piece that has two or three leaves on it and then dip the end into some plant hormone. Then we put the plants into trays of really wet perlite. Within a month the cuttings had very large root systems. I do not know if you would be able to do this without plant hormone which is a little expensive but its worth a try. Putting the cutting back into just regular potting soil might work.

i had one really really really big one and a few small ones. and yes, the cats really did climb the big guy
(...i think there might even be a picture around this messy place somewhere..)
i think it's called a cast iron plant or song of india, or something like that. going completely on old memories here.
anyway, adding to the above cutting thing, don't just lop off the top of the plant, wait until it has more growths steaming out from the base. those can be cut and grown, or you can lop off the top above those growths and plant the old top. this particular plant dosn't grow very fast so you won't have to worry about it getting huge (or cat sized) for a couple years. if you think it's getting to big, and it has not produced any growths off the sides (either from the base or the stem) then cutting a strategically placed notch out of the steam will encourage a growth. look for a nodual where a steam mihgt have growth, or a line that looks natural on the stem. that's a good place to start. once anything, be it leaves or top or whatever, has been taken off the plant they can be dipped into a growth hormone and planeted into the plant's growing medium. some plants like more acidic dirt then others, i beileve this kind likes regular ol' compost just fine. it likes it slightly humid, and roots not to be disturbed too much. so no need to replant but every three years or so. there are lots of websites all on foliage plants, with growing instructions etc etc.
good luck.
i'm having trouble with this keyboard, i'm really not THAT bad of a speller!