Echinodorus 'Red Chameleon'

About this plant

Echinodorus 'Red Chameleon' is a cultivated sword plant valued for red new leaves that gradually shift toward green as they mature. The compact rosette reaches up to about 30 cm, placing it in the midground of medium and large aquariums rather than among the largest Echinodorus cultivars. Medium to high light supports the strongest red colour, while a nutrient-rich substrate supplies the heavy root feeding typical of sword plants. Stable carbon dioxide around 20 to 30 mg/L promotes steady growth, although the cultivar remains comparatively easy when the substrate and water column are well fertilised. Keep the crown above the substrate and remove old outer leaves at their base. Propagation occurs through adventitious plantlets on the flower stalk; separate them after several leaves and roots have developed. With its moderate growth rate, broad colour transition and defined rosette shape, 'Red Chameleon' works best as an isolated red-green specimen rather than in a crowded stem-plant group.