Propagating Echinodorus Parviflorus (Black Amazon Sword)

How to propagate the compact Echinodorus parviflorus sword through adventitious plantlets on flower stalks and by crown or rhizome division, with root-feeding tips.

Overview

Echinodorus parviflorus, the black amazon sword (a compact form discovered in the Tropica nursery in Denmark in the 1980s), grows as a spreading rosette of dark-green, slightly bullate leaves. It is a marsh and bog plant fully capable of submersed growth, and a heavy root feeder that wants a deep, nutrient-rich substrate.

Because it is a rosette plant, you propagate it from daughter plantlets and crown division rather than by cutting stems. It is one of the best swords for medium tanks that cannot fit the much larger Amazon sword.

Propagation Method

There are two asexual methods. First, adventitious daughter plantlets develop on submerged flowering stems: when an inflorescence forms underwater, plantlets grow instead of flowers. Second, an established clump can be propagated by division of the crown or rhizome.

Step-by-Step

1. For plantlets, let a submerged flower stalk develop and wait for young plantlets to form along it.
2. Allow each plantlet to grow several leaves and a small root system while still attached.
3. Detach the rooted plantlet from the stalk and plant it in nutrient-rich substrate.
4. For division, lift a mature plant and split the crown or rhizome into sections, each with roots and leaves.
5. Replant each section, burying the roots but keeping the crown at the substrate surface, and add root tabs.

Conditions for Healthy Growth

Echinodorus prefer good light and a deep, nutrient-rich substrate, and most species need tropical to sub-tropical temperatures. They generally tolerate variable water conditions. Additional CO2 is not required but enhances vigorous growth.

Maintenance

Keep the plant in the foreground to midground where its compact rosette suits medium tanks. Remove old or damaged outer leaves at the base, and replenish root tabs periodically to sustain the heavy feeding demand. Under good light it persists reliably across a range of conditions.

Common Challenges

Poor light and a thin or nutrient-poor substrate are the usual reasons a sword fails to thrive or refuses to throw plantlets. If you want plantlets rather than aerial flowers, keep the inflorescence submerged rather than letting it grow emersed.