About the species

Micranthemum umbrosum is an American stem plant with small, round, fresh green leaves. The stems grow ten to twenty-five centimetres long and one to two centimetres wide, and once the plant has got going it grows quickly. It looks best in a group of many stems, where the round leaves form a soft, continuous surface.

Facts

• Latin name: Micranthemum umbrosum
• Plant type: Stem plant
• Origin: North America
• Height: 10–15 cm
• Growth rate: Fast
• Position: Midground

Light requirement

Medium light requirement. Reckon on around 0.5 W per litre or a modern mid-range LED unit. Too little light gives sparse, stretched shoots and pale leaves, while the right amount keeps the plant compact and richly coloured.

CO₂ & nutrition

Added CO₂ is recommended — Tropica reckons 6–14 mg/l as a medium requirement. The plant can be grown without, but then grows more slowly and loses some of its colour. Supplement with liquid fertiliser weekly and keep iron and potassium levels up.

Planting

Split the bunch and set the stems one by one, about two centimetres into the substrate and two to three centimetres apart. Removing the lowest leaves first stops them rotting in the substrate. A group of five to ten stems looks far better straight away than single plants.

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

Care & propagation

Top the plant when it reaches the height you want and replant the cuttings — that propagates it and gives a denser group at the same time. Trim regularly so light reaches the lower leaves, and discard the old lower sections once they start thinning out.

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

🟡 Moderate — wants stable lighting and regular fertilisation to look its best.

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

Buy several pots at once — single stems do not do it justice, whereas a dense group becomes a soft green section in the midground. Pinch off the terminal shoots often and replant them.