Rotala Red Cross

Care at a glance

Overview

A slow-growing Rotala for the midground, best planted as a group of stems a couple of centimeters apart. High light is non-negotiable: in medium light it stays green and loses the gradient it is bought for. Steady CO2, lean nitrates and iron dosing push the orange, and slow growth under strong light means algae will find the leaves if maintenance slips. Propagate by trimming and replanting side shoots.

In the wild

Red Cross is a trade selection attributed to Rotala ramosior, a small amphibious plant widespread in the Americas that grows on wet shores and in seasonal shallows, emersed for much of the year. The cultivated line has no recorded wild collection, so where this particular form came from is unknown. It grows submersed or emersed and suits dry-start setups.

Good to know

A member of the family Lythraceae. Shops print it as Rotala ramosior 'Red Cross', and the 'Araguaia Red Cross' label seen elsewhere is the same plant under a misapplied name. Its signature is the leaf coloring: instead of a flat stem color, each narrow leaf runs a gradient from light green at the base through yellow to orange at the tip.

Did you know

Each leaf is its own ombre, light green through yellow to orange along a single blade, so a stand of Red Cross reads as layered color rather than a solid block of red.

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