Leaf colourgreen, red
Native range
- Alabama
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode I.
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
stem plant
A ludwigia that grows sideways instead of up: trimmed regularly it forms low red-orange crowns near the substrate. Unusual for the genus, and useful at the front of a tank.
- Light
- high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Temperature
- 18 – 28 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratemedium
pH5 – 7
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Narrow leaves on stems that spread horizontally rather than standing upright. Under strong light the crowns turn red to orange; in the shade the plant is a dull green.
Keeping
Moderate demands and slow growth by ludwigia standards. Light is the whole story: strong light gives colour and compact growth, shade gives green and slower growth still. Regular pruning is what keeps it low and encourages the crowns.
Placement
The front or middle of the tank, where nothing shades it.
Propagation
By cuttings: cut a shoot and replant it.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 855 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
ButterflyfishJulii CorydorasFeatherfin SynodontisRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus BrokopondoHomaloptera bilineataRed-tailed RasboraBoraras naevusLampeye KillifishSpotted Raphael CatfishCorydoras melanotaeniaFestivum cichlid
Will eat this plant
These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.
Bengal LoachZebra LoachBurmese Border LoachEmperor BotiaMarbled HeadstanderPellegrin's LeporinusLeporinus striatusFalse Black TetraCommon MetynnisMylossoma duriventreRed Whiptail CatfishMoonlight GouramiMelanotaenia parva
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Ludwigia sphaerocarpa in Vitro, Ludwigia sphaerocarpa Aqua Art