A more color-focused version of the beginner-friendly dwarf rotala, best used massed in the background. It needs bright light (roughly 80 PAR and up) plus CO2 and a nutrient-rich substrate to turn deep red, otherwise it stays orange-green. Trimming the tops encourages side shoots and a denser, bushier stand, and the trimmings replant easily.
In the wild
Colorata is a selected form of Rotala rotundifolia, a species native to Southeast Asia where it grows in shallow, sunny wetlands, rice paddies, and stream edges. This variety was picked out in cultivation for stronger red coloration and is not a distinct wild population.
Good to know
It sits in the family Lythraceae alongside all other Rotala. Like the parent species it is amphibious, growing rounded leaves emersed and narrow leaves submersed. Colorata is genetically the same species as common Rotala rotundifolia but expresses more red pigment under high light, and it is the parent stock from which the 'Orange Juice' sport was derived.
Did you know
Did you know cutting the stem tips off actually intensifies the red, because the newest top growth colors up fastest under strong light while shaded lower leaves fade to green.
High lightBackground15.7 in (40 cm)
High lightBackground19.7 in (50 cm)
High lightBackground11.8 in (30 cm)