Propagating Java Fern Question

[Memphis]

I have a Java Fern that I got last month. Recently it has been producing butt loads of babies off the tips and underside. I did read up on propagating, and they said to wait when they have about 3 leaves and a roots.

My questions is how big do I have to wait for the babies to grow in order to tie them down on a driftwood/rock?

And how big can these Java Ferns get?

[Silverfang]

I've never really tried to separate mine, they just sorta split when ready. I've got one that has some leaves close to 12 inches in height, and a mass of root that is at least four inches long

[Bombalurina]

As Silverfang says, you can leave them and the babies will fall off on their own. If you don't want to wait, you can try to remove them yourself. If they come off with a gentle tug, they are ready. If not, they aren't.

They can get pretty huge, but do grow relatively slowly. I had some attached to a driftwood cave for months and didn't really pay attention to them. Then I rearranged the tank and though, Holy Flipping Batman, those babies got big. They'd quadrupled in size and turned into a forest.

[Silverfang]

it's true. I got some fully mature ferns with my used tank. they were massive, and still are.

[Memphis]

Thanks guys. I will leave them be until they are ready to drop, and for the info on the size. I will probably stick with one fern now. I have a funny feeling this plant going to get big by summer. Bad enough it grew in just a months worth. And of course I discovered two new leaf shoots from the root that are getting long..

[Rjb5584]

I got my first Java fern back in December, and a second one a month ago. Over the course of that month, both have now each produced at least 2 "babies", now giving me a grand total of 8. It'll be interesting to see how fast these grow since they essentially propagated over night.