LeighMo took issue with the oracle thusly ...

I have never had stem plants get root rot, with or without a UGF.

Then you must be one of the minority who does things the right way every
time. If you take the time to strip the lower leaves and plant each stem
individually, root rot shouldn't happen. If, like me, you're occasionally
(often? chronically?)) lazy or in a rush and just jam a bunch of plants into
the gravel, it helps to have water circulating through the substrate.

kush