Hygrophila corymbosa Compacta
Hygrophila corymbosa 'Compacta'
One of 4 forms of Hygrophila corymbosa · See all forms →
Also known as Hygrophila corymbosa 'Compact', Hygrophila corymbosa 'Kompakt', Temple Compacta
Forms · Hygrophila corymbosa
See all 4 →- Corymbosa
- Siamensis
- CompactaThis page
- Cherry Leaf
Care at a glance
- Light
- Low light
- CO2
- CO₂ beneficial
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Placement
- Midground
- Type
- Stem
- Temperature
- 68–82°F (20–28°C)
- pH
- 6.3–7.5
- Hardness
- 4–18 dGH
- Max height
- 7.9 in (20 cm)
- Spread
- 5.9 in (15 cm)
- Nutrient uptake
- Root + water column
- Growth region
- Submersed or emersed
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Origin
- Cultivated (dwarf form of the Southeast Asian Hygrophila corymbosa)
- Family
- Acanthaceae
Overview
One of the easiest midground plants there is: undemanding about light, fine without CO2 and tolerant of hard water. The emersed leaves it ships with will yellow and drop as submersed growth takes over; that transition is normal, not failure. It stays low for a stem plant and thickens by pushing side shoots from the base, so it holds a compact mound with very little trimming. Under strong light the newest leaves flush reddish brown, and richer feeding speeds the mound up. Propagate by replanting side shoots or cuttings.
In the wild
Compacta is a dwarf cultivated form of Hygrophila corymbosa and is not a wild plant. The species grows across Southeast Asia in marshes, ditches and along stream margins, mostly emersed as a stout marsh herb, and submersed when the water rises over it.
Good to know
A cultivar of Hygrophila corymbosa in the family Acanthaceae, traded as 'Compact', 'Compacta' and 'Kompakt'. Its internodes are drastically shortened, so leaves that would sit spaced along a tall stem instead pack into a dense, almost rosette-like head. Nursery plants arrive with dark brownish-green emersed foliage that is replaced underwater by pale green leaves with silver-white undersides.
Did you know
Compacta is a stem plant doing a rosette impression: the internodes are so compressed that months can pass before it looks like it has a stem at all, which is why it holds its shape while its parent species races to the surface.
Appears in
Low-light plants · Midground plants · Stem plants · Beginner plants
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