(set of 3 stems)
The easiest!
Hygrophila polysperma is probably the easiest aquarium plant to maintain, acclimate, and grow. It’s foolproof and has a perfect place in low-tech aquariums!
This Hygrophila is the ultimate beginner’s plant.
Its tolerance to conditions that would kill other plants is truly impressive.
This starts right from its introduction. Most plants (which you’re never told!) need an acclimation period. They must readjust their metabolism, tissues, and leaves to new conditions.
That’s why a plant you buy doesn’t grow immediately, often loses leaves and roots before finally bouncing back. The example of Azolla losing its black filaments (false roots) in the transport bag is well known. It sheds some tissues to then regrow them, better adapted to the new conditions. This phase is normal.
But Hygrophila polysperma needs no more than a week to adapt and start growing again!
Its tolerance to low light is also remarkable.
It will adapt, lose lower leaves, produce broader leaves, become greener and less pink, but it will grow!
Simply trim it (and replant the trimmed parts) so it regrows from the base with new leaves.
This makes it, for example, a species that can grow under floating plants like Duckweed, Salvinia, or Large Duckweed.
No need for fertilizer or added CO2.
Hygrophila polysperma can grow with the lowest CO2 levels (it’s suspected to capture carbon in other forms). It consumes nitrates and phosphates in overcrowded aquariums without issue, showing this consumption by even stronger growth.
It’s perfect for a starting aquarium, as it’s known to consume ammonium and nitrites present during the initial cycling of aquariums.
Hygrophila polysperma is estimated to grow 3 to 5 cm per day!
This speed speaks volumes about the purification it provides, because growing that fast consumes a lot! But above all, this ultra-fast metabolism makes it a very oxygenating plant.
In natural aquaristics, some rely on this plant alone to create a dense jungle that grows easily and only needs occasional trimming. It then helps balance an aquarium that runs almost "on its own".
It can also emerge and grow (even faster!) out of the water.
Its "wick effect" (evapotranspiration) in this situation is superior to most other marsh plants, helping maintain high air humidity, for example in paludariums.
This biomass exuberance and ability to grow out of water make it a plant highly valued in aquaponics and phytoremediation.
However, be careful: it only tolerates outdoor conditions in our regions during summer. Below 18°C, it’s too cold for it!
So it should be kept in aquariums (even unheated ones) or brought indoors promptly in autumn.
Our plants are guaranteed free of rock wool and any artificial substrate, ready to produce roots adapted to their new environment.
Although they are not classified as invasive plants, please do not release these plants into the wild.
Indicative weight: 20g
