About the species

Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' from India resembles a medium-sized, broad-leaved Cryptocoryne. The leaves are four to eight centimetres wide and six to twelve centimetres long, so the whole plant becomes fairly broad. The colour ranges from dusty green to bright violet and red-violet, often on the same leaf, and new leaves emerge pale pink.

Facts

• Latin name: Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red'
• Plant type: Rosette plant
• Origin: Asia
• Height: 10–20 cm
• Growth rate: Slow
• Position: Midground

Light requirement

Low light requirement. It manages with the lighting that comes with most aquariums and is happy in partial shade behind or beneath taller plants. Strong lighting does not harm it, but raises the risk of algae on the leaves because the plant cannot use all the available light.

CO₂ & nutrition

Manages entirely without added CO₂, which makes it as suitable for a simple aquarium as for an aquascape. Liquid carbon or injected CO₂ speeds up growth but is never a requirement. Dose an all-round fertiliser with iron and micronutrients every week.

Planting

Plant the root ball in the substrate so the roots are covered but the crown — where the new leaves emerge — sits just above it. Burying the growth point makes the plant rot. Give it plenty of room, since the leaves spread out in a rosette.

Carefully remove the pot and rinse the rock wool off the roots before planting — leftover rock wool can otherwise hinder rooting.

Care & propagation

Cut old outer leaves off at the base once they start to look tired, and the rosette stays fresh. The plant propagates itself with daughter plants from the rootstock; separate them from the mother plant once they have their own roots and a few leaves.

Position in the aquarium

Its height makes it a classic midground plant. It works nicely as the transition between low foreground plants and tall background plants, and looks best in a group or around a piece of wood.

Difficulty level

🟢 Easy — grows in most aquariums without CO₂ and under ordinary lighting.

Delivery format

Delivered as a pot grown submerged, with the roots in rock wool. The pot holds several plants or stems that can be divided and planted separately.

Recommendation

A rewarding splash of colour in the midground for anyone who likes Cryptocorynes but wants something less common. It needs enough light to develop its colour, and time — growth is slow and the plant gets better with every month.