Heteranthera Zosterifolia “star grass” (High Tech)
Heteranthera zosterifolia is a beautiful stem plant with bright green lanceolate leaves. In its country of origin, Brazil, it usually grows in stangant waters and swampy regions. H. zosterifolia is a relatively undemanding plant and grows well at medium light intensities without additional CO2 fertlisation. It attains its full potential, however, under strong lights and with CO2 fertilisation, then it shows lush, intensive growth and larger leaves. When allowed to grow out of the water it will often get nice blue flowers.
Instructions:
1. Make sure you understand how to grow aquatic plants:
- Click/tap >>HERE<< to view our easy guide explaining the needs of aquatic plants.
2. Planting Instructions for the Heteranthera Zosterifolia “star grass”:
- Firstly, remove the label.
- Secondly, remove the rock wool together with the plant from the net pot
- Thirdly, make sure you also remove the rock wool from the root system, take care not to break or tear the larger roots while doing this.
- Give the plant a quick rinse under tap or dechlorinated water.
- Finally, plant the stems using tweezers into the substrate
3. Transitioning process:
- Emersed to submersed growth in your aquarium.
- Provide good water conditions for your plants.
- Dose a respectable aquatic fertilizer for your plants, follow the instructions from the manufacturer.
- Make sure you have the correct lighting spectrum.
- Prune dead leaves and stems constantly.
- A Co2 system is a good addition to your aquarium for the plants to flourish.
- Conduct 20-30% water changed once a week to ensure good water conditions.
- Patience is key for the transition to take place.
In a few days, after placing your plants in the aquarium you will notice some of the leaves start to melt and fall away.
This means the transition process has started. Please note the plants might look DEAD, but they are fully alive, so do not panic. Also, after a few days, you will notice new growth will appear and the plant will fully change its form into submersed growth. You need to continuously trim and put fertilizer in for the plants to thrive in your aquarium.
Will this plant grow in your tank? We have made a guide to aid in growing/understanding aquatic plants. Check it out >here<. View other plants that will grow in: ( Low Tech | Medium Tech | High Tech | All Plants )
*This is a Potted Plant and NOT a Tissue Culture Plant. This plant was grown in a greenhouse and is NOT guaranteed to be snail, algae or pesticide-free. Potted plants are cheaper than Tissue Culture Plants as they are not grown in a sterile laboratory. They generally appear to be bigger than Tissue Culture plants. We recommend Tissue Culture Plant for 100% client satisfaction.
McMerwe Review: It might be a frustrating plant for some people as the tips of the leaves die or get dark in high flow. The plants like slow-moving water with not much disturbance. It struggles without co2 and grows extremely fast with co2. It’s an odd plant but it looks extremely soft and beautiful in any co2 tank. [Rating: 3/5]
Werner (verified owner) –
It is a stunning plant. It really add something different to the tank.