Ludwigia Rubin

Care at a glance

Overview

One of the more forgiving red stems, growing in medium light and tolerating no-CO2 tanks, though CO2, strong light and iron dosing deepen the wine-red color. Lower leaves tend to drop if light is too weak, so keep the stand well lit and trimmed. Propagate from cuttings and replant in groups for a fuller red block.

In the wild

Sold as a red form of Ludwigia repens, a North American primrose-willow of swamps and slow streams. 'Rubin' is a cultivated selection maintained in the trade rather than a wild-collected population, prized for its deep red leaves and stems.

Good to know

A member of the Onagraceae. Despite the common label 'Ludwigia repens Rubin', it is probably not a pure repens variety but a hybrid, likely involving Ludwigia glandulosa (it is sometimes listed as Ludwigia aff. glandulosa or Ludwigia sp. 'Weinrot'). The giveaway is its irregular mix of opposite and alternate leaves, whereas true L. repens always carries two opposite leaves per node.

Did you know

Did you know the 'repens' in its trade name is likely wrong; the plant's mixed opposite-and-alternate leaf pattern points to it being a glandulosa hybrid rather than a true Ludwigia repens.

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