Tropica Echinodorus ‘Bleherae’ XL

Description

Echinodorus ‘Bleherae’ Xl

Motherplant grown in XL-pot.
Echinodorus ‘Bleherae’ i from South America is undemanding and beautiful, and becomes 20-50 cm tall.
A nutritious bottom promotes growth, but the plant needs pruning to prevent it depriving plants underneath of light.
Echinodorus bleherae does well even in poorly illuminated aquariums, as it grows towards the light.
It is a hardy and easy solitary plant for both beginners and the more experienced with quite large aquariums.
It has been sold under the name ”Paniculatus”.

Plant Info

Growing Tropica Echinodorus ‘Bleherae’ XL in Singapore tanks

We see this broad-leaf Amazon sword become a centrepiece in many local 3ft and 4ft setups. Bought as an XL motherplant, it arrives with a developed crown and plenty of leaves, so it establishes faster than a small pot. In our experience the early leaves can melt as the plant switches from emersed nursery growth to submersed life, which is completely normal. New submersed leaves push up within a couple of weeks once roots take hold in the substrate.

This is a heavy root feeder, so a nutrient-rich base or root tablets under the crown make the difference between a thriving plant and a stalled one. At Singapore’s typical 27-29C it grows steadily without a chiller, which suits most heaterless HDB and condo tanks. Because it can reach 40-50cm and spread wide, give it a back corner where its leaves won’t shade lower carpet plants, and trim older outer leaves periodically to keep light reaching the foreground.

We stock it among our other background plants. For establishing it well, read our Amazon sword care guide and our aquarium root tabs guide, and acclimate it using our plant acclimatisation guide.