Water hedge

Didiplis diandra

Also known as Peplis diandra, Water hedge, Water screw-stem

FreshwaterStemCuttingsSide shoots

Water hedge (Didiplis diandra) — jim_keesling · CC BY 4.0

Care at a glance

Light: High light
CO2: CO₂ beneficial
Growth rate: Fast
Placement: Midground
Type: Stem
Temperature: 72–82°F (22–28°C)
pH: 5.0–7.0
Hardness: 2–10 dGH
Max height: 11.8 in (30 cm)
Spread: 1.6 in (4 cm)
Nutrient uptake: Root + water column
Growth region: Submersed or emersed
Difficulty: Difficult
Origin: Eastern and southeastern USA
Family: Lythraceae

Overview

A fine-textured mid-ground stem that turns orange to red at the tips under strong light, staying green in dimmer tanks. It needs bright light and CO2 to hold its lower leaves, otherwise the base rots out and the stems go bald. It is a heavy feeder for iron and micronutrients, and pale plants signal iron shortage. Trim tops and side shoots and replant to bush it out.

In the wild

Native to the eastern, southern and southeastern United States, where it grows along the margins of ponds, lakes and slow-flowing waters. It is a fine-leaved marsh plant that grows both emersed on damp banks and fully submersed.

Good to know

Its accepted name is Didiplis diandra, with Peplis diandra as a botanical synonym; it is the sole species of the small genus Didiplis in the family Lythraceae. The needle-fine opposite leaves give it a distinctive soft, feathery look unlike the rounder Rotala and Ammannia relatives.

Did you know

Its needle-like foliage makes it one of the few stem plants that reads as fine and grassy, so aquascapers use it for soft texture contrast where a Rotala would look too round-leaved.