Apart sword

Care at a glance

Overview

Bred specifically to be far less fussy than its wild parents, Apart is a good pick for anyone who wants a low, compact sword for the midground without the collector-plant headaches. Root it in a nutrient-rich substrate with tabs, run medium light, and add CO2 if you want faster, denser growth. It stays smaller than a standard Amazon sword and throws plantlets from its flower stalks for easy propagation.

In the wild

Apart is a garden hybrid with no wild range; it was created in 1994 by Hans Barth in Dessau, Germany, by crossing the softwater sword E. uruguayensis 'horemanii red' with E. portoalegrensis. Its parent species come from the cool, fast-flowing, acidic rivers of southeastern South America.

Good to know

A named cultivar in the family Alismataceae carrying a quoted name rather than a species binomial. Its 'horemanii red' parent is itself a form of Echinodorus uruguayensis (now placed under the accepted name Aquarius uruguayensis; horemanii is a synonym), so Apart is essentially a tamer, low-growing offspring of two demanding softwater swords. It produces ovate to lanceolate dark green leaves with distinctly lighter veins.

Did you know

Did you know Apart was engineered to keep the looks of the temperamental horemanii-type swords while dropping their strict softwater, high-light demands? It is one of the more forgiving members of an otherwise diva-heavy lineage.

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