tsunami

Rotala pusilla, a diminutive new species of Rotala which might gain popularity in future years for smaller layouts:




Carlos

Raul-7

I had a picture of Rotala pussila, but as I remember the stems were red while the leaves were green.

fishfry

I have only seen Rotala pusilla with greenish stems like the one Carlos posted. There are some other Rotalas like Rotala sp "Vietnam" that do get red stems. Good luck finding Rotala pusilla, not many people have it in the US yet. Here is a not so clear picture of it.

Aaron

Try going lean on the ferts and you'll get a red stem. It seems to be working on my R. pusilla which stayed solid green when fed copious amounts of N and P. Cutting back on both made for a more colorful plant. (with a red stem)This bit of a diet turns R. sp. Vietnam into a thing of beauty, dark red stems and chartreuse leaves!

Cavan Allen

How big do your stems get Aaron? I just got some recently, and it's roughly the size of rotundifolia. I'm sure I've seen pictures of it larger, so I'm hoping to get some more size to it. It's a very nice plant in any case.

Have you been able to grow stands of it like with rotundifolia?

I'm pretty sure this is one of the two Rotalas called "Rotala sp. Araguaia".
http://www.rva.ne.jp/plants/mizumatuba.htm

Error

R. pusilla is R. sp. 'Araguia'. Mine grows straight up, and low NO3/PO4 does indeed make the stems appear a bit darker.

When my fertilizer regimen was a little more strict, the entire plant was green.

Cavan, the biggest I've gotten it is about an inch and a half from leaf tip to leaf tip, about the same size as the R. rotundifolia I've grown.

Raul-7

If it is the same size as R. rotundifolia it could be a great alternative to Rotala sp. Green, at least it won't creep.