Echinodorus cordifolius 'Red Flame' Care Guide
Echinodorus 'Red Flame' is a hybrid sword whose leaves carry densely set dark-red blotches on a brown-red to green ground, needing strong root feeding and light.
Overview
Echinodorus 'Red Flame' is a hybrid sword plant in the family Alismataceae. Its submersed leaves carry a contrasting pattern of densely set dark-red blotches on a bright brown-red to light-green ground, the pattern being most pronounced on younger leaves. The blade is roughly 20 cm long and 10 cm wide on a stalk about 10 cm long. Like most swords it is usually supplied in an emersed nursery form with plainer green leaves, and develops its full colour once submersed.
Taxonomy
- Family: Alismataceae
- Genus: Echinodorus
- Scientific name: Echinodorus cordifolius 'Red Flame' (cultivar)
- Origin: hybrid cultivar selected by Hans Barth (Dessau, Germany) in the 1990s
Origin
'Red Flame' is a cultivated hybrid rather than a wild species and therefore has no natural range. It was selected by the German breeder Hans Barth in the 1990s and is propagated horticulturally for the aquarium trade.
Tank requirements
- Temperature: 22-28 °C (72-82 °F)
- pH: 6.0-7.5
- GH: 4-14 °dGH
- Lighting: moderate to bright; low light fades the red and spots
- CO2: not required, but stable CO2 supports colour and growth
- Growth rate: medium
- Maximum height: about 50 cm
- Placement: midground to background specimen
Planting and care
It needs moderate to bright lighting to develop the vivid red and maroon tones; under low light the leaves revert to greener hues and lose their spots. As a heavy root feeder it should be planted in nutrient-rich substrate, or supplied with root tabs in inert sand or gravel, with iron-bearing fertilisation supporting colour. Stable water parameters and removal of older or fading leaves keep the plant healthy.
Propagation
Propagation is through adventitious plantlets that form along the flower stalks. These plantlets are separated and replanted once they have developed their own roots.