The short answer
You tie or glue the plant’s rhizome to the surface and let its roots grip over the following weeks — you never bury it. This works for rhizome plants like Anubias and Java fern and for mosses, all of which naturally cling to wood and rock rather than rooting in substrate. Burying the rhizome is the number-one way to kill these plants: it rots.
What to attach
Only rhizome and moss plants belong on hardscape:
Rooted plants such as swords and crypts feed through their roots, so those go in the substrate, not on wood.
Two ways to fix them
- Thread or fishing line / cotton: wrap the rhizome or moss snugly against the wood and tie off. Cotton thread rots away in a few weeks once the roots have gripped; fishing line stays. Good for larger rhizomes.
- Cyanoacrylate gel (superglue): dab a little gel on the underside of the rhizome or a clump of moss and press it onto dry-ish wood — it sets in seconds, even underwater. Fast and invisible once plants grow over it.
After attaching
Give it a few weeks: the roots slowly wrap the wood and the plant becomes permanent. These are all easy, no-CO2 plants that thrive in low light, so no special gear is needed — just a little fertiliser in the water. For layout ideas see aquascaping for beginners and how to plant aquarium plants.