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Rose sword

Echinodorus 'Rosé'

Also known as Echinodorus 'Rose', Rosé sword, Sword rose, Echinodorus 072B

FreshwaterRosetteRunnersSide shoots

Care at a glance

Light
Low light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Growth rate
Medium
Placement
Background
Type
Rosette
Temperature
72–82°F (22–28°C)
pH
6.0–8.0
Hardness
2–15 dGH
Max height
15.7 in (40 cm)
Spread
9.8 in (25 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Easy
Origin
Cultivar (hybrid of Echinodorus horemanii 'Red' x Echinodorus horizontalis, first produced 1986)
Family
Alismataceae

Overview

An undemanding background sword that tolerates low to moderate light and needs no CO2, though a rich substrate and root tabs bring out the best colour. New submersed leaves flush pink with red-brown spotting, deepening under stronger light. Trim old outer leaves at the base and remove runners if you want to limit spread.

In the wild

A garden hybrid with no wild range, bred in cultivation rather than collected. Its parent species come from Central and South America, where wild Echinodorus grow as marsh and riverbank plants that spend part of the year emersed. Like all swords it forms a stout basal rosette rooted into soft substrate.

Good to know

Registered by Tropica in 1986 as a cross between Echinodorus horemanii 'Red' and Echinodorus horizontalis. It belongs to the Alismataceae (water-plantain family), not the aroids. Being a hybrid it is sterile in the usual sense and is bulked up vegetatively rather than from seed.

Did you know

The pink new-leaf colour that gives it its name only appears once the plant has converted from its emersed nursery form to submersed growth, so freshly potted plants often look plain green at first.

Where to buy

Some links may not be the exact species or variety.

…or ask your local fish store.

Appears in

Low-light plants · Background plants · Sword plants · Beginner plants

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