Cultivated hybrid (nursery-bred, no wild range); breeding origin undocumented
Overview
Red Phoenix sword is an easygoing red sword for the midground, or for the background of smaller tanks. It is one of the newer red Echinodorus cultivars.
Did you know
Red Phoenix sword gets its color almost free by red-plant standards. Red stem plants demand intense light and lean dosing to perform. This sword's new leaves emerge flame-colored under ordinary community-tank lighting.
Caring for Red Phoenix sword
Plant Red Phoenix sword in a nutrient-rich substrate and keep the crown above the substrate line. On inert gravel, keep root tabs under it. Emersed-grown pots usually melt their old leaves while they convert. Trim the casualties at the base and let the submersed leaves take over.
Medium light keeps it healthy. Stronger light and CO2 push more red into the new leaves, but it needs neither. It feeds through its leaves as well as its roots, so add a liquid fertilizer to the root tabs. Keep the water at 68 to 82°F (20 to 28°C).
It grows at a moderate pace and makes new plants from plantlets and rhizome division. Remove the oldest leaves now and then, both for looks and because slow old sword leaves are where algae settles first.
Good to know
Red Phoenix sword is a sword plant in the family Alismataceae, sold under its trade name with no formally published parentage. Like the other modern red swords, it comes out of the long-running Echinodorus hybrid complex rather than from any single species. Its oval, pointed leaves emerge orange to red and shift through green as they age. A healthy plant carries a gradient of color rather than a uniform red.
In the wild
Red Phoenix sword is a nursery selection with no wild population. Its Echinodorus parents come from the marshes and riverbanks of South America. There, sword plants grow emersed for much of the year and submersed during floods.
Common questions
Does Red Phoenix sword need to be planted in the substrate?
Yes. Bury the roots and leave the crown, where the leaves join, just above the substrate.
Does Red Phoenix sword need CO2?
No, but it helps. Red Phoenix sword can grow without injected CO2, and added CO2 makes it grow faster.
How much light does Red Phoenix sword need?
Red Phoenix sword wants medium light. A light sold for planted tanks covers it.
Does Red Phoenix sword need root tabs?
They help. Red Phoenix sword takes nutrients through both its roots and its leaves. Root tabs near its roots and a liquid fertilizer cover both.
How do you propagate Red Phoenix sword?
Red Phoenix sword propagates by plantlets and rhizome division. Small plantlets form on the plant and can be detached once they have a few roots. Cut the rhizome into pieces with several leaves each, then tie or plant each piece.
How tall does Red Phoenix sword grow?
Red Phoenix sword grows to about 15.7 in (40 cm) tall. It grows at a moderate pace.
Low lightMidground7.9 in (20 cm)
Medium lightBackground19.7 in (50 cm)
High lightBackground19.7 in (50 cm)
Medium lightBackground19.7 in (50 cm)