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Red Diamond sword

Echinodorus 'Red Diamond'

One of 21 cultivars of Echinodorus · See all cultivars →

Also known as Echinodorus Red Diamond

FreshwaterRosettePlantletsRhizome division

Cultivars · Echinodorus

See all 21 →

Care at a glance

Light
Medium light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Growth rate
Medium
Placement
Midground
Type
Rosette
Temperature
68–82°F (20–28°C)
pH
6.0–7.5
Max height
11.8 in (30 cm)
Spread
11.8 in (30 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Medium
Origin
Cultivated hybrid that appeared in Ukraine, probably a cross of Echinodorus uruguayensis ('Horemanii Red') and Echinodorus barthii; no wild range
Family
Alismataceae

Overview

One of the few genuinely red swords that fits a mid-sized tank, forming a rosette 20 to 30 cm tall and about as wide, which makes it a natural solitary centerpiece in the midground. Feed it at the roots with rich substrate or root tabs, since increasing substrate nutrition is what drives abundant growth. Medium light is enough to keep it red, and more light deepens the ruby tone; CO2 helps but is not required. Tissue culture and emersed pots go through the usual sword conversion melt, so be patient for the first weeks and trim spent leaves at the base. Old leaves grow slowly enough to collect algae, so retire them before they turn into a problem.

In the wild

Red Diamond is a Ukrainian nursery hybrid with no wild habitat of its own. Its parents come from the rivers and streams of southern South America: Echinodorus uruguayensis, whose red horemanii form supplied the colour, grows submersed in cool, clear flowing water, while E. barthii is itself a cultivated red sword line. The plant is farmed emersed and in tissue culture and adapts to submersed growth after planting.

Good to know

A sword plant in the family Alismataceae that appeared as a culture in Ukraine, per Tropica probably a cross of Echinodorus uruguayensis 'Horemanii Red' with E. barthii. The result keeps the narrow, ruby-red sword-shaped leaves of the horemanii side, 15 to 25 cm long, on a plant that stays far more compact than either parent line. It is a distinct cultivar, not a trade name for the red form of E. horemanii, although shops have used the same words for that plant.

Did you know

It solves the classic red sword dilemma. The deep ruby horemanii-type swords traditionally meant a big, slow, demanding plant, and Red Diamond packs that colour into a rosette compact enough for a 60 cm tank.

Appears in

Midground plants · Sword plants

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