Red Melon Sword

• Scientific Name: Echinodorus osiris or Echinodorus 'Barthii'
• Origin: Hybrid of Echinodorus spp. 
• Skill Level: Easy
• Placement: Background
• Recommended Light: Low to Medium Light 10-35 PAR (click to see our PAR chart)
• CO₂ Requirement: None
• Preferred Fertilizer: Easy Root Tabs and Easy Green liquid fertilizer
• Propagation: Trim off side shoots and replant

***Being a natural product, sizes can vary from what is shown.***

How to Plant Red Melon Sword Aquarium Plant

1. Remove the potted plant from plastic basket, and split the rock wool in half.
2. Carefully remove the plant roots from the rock wool, and make sure to remove all the small, yellow fertilizer balls. Wash off any remaining debris.
3. Use planting tweezers or your fingers to push the roots of the sword deeply into the substrate until they are completely buried. Pull out the plant slightly so that the crown (i.e., the base of the plant where all the leaves come out) is not covered with substrate.
4. If the plant keeps popping out of the ground, try inserting the plant at an angle or wrap a plant weight at the bottom of the plant to keep it anchored.
5. Make sure to add lots of root tabs if you’re using inert substrate or if your nutrient-rich substrate is depleted.

How to Care for Red Melon Sword Plant

— Red melon sword plant care is very easy, so start by using low to medium lighting between 10-35 PAR. 
— Why is my new sword plant melting? Sword plants are sometimes known to experience melting when they suddenly move to a new environment. To help the plant recover faster and grow new leaves that are accustomed to your water parameters, leave the roots planted in the ground and make sure to provide nutrient-rich planted tank substrate or Easy Root Tabs. 
— Why is my red melon sword turning brown after it was growing so well? Sword plants absorb lots of nutrients from the ground, so it may be a nutrient deficiency. If the larger, outer leaves are yellowing and dying after a couple of months, please add more root tabs.
— How to trim red melon sword: If the sword plant has dying or melting leaves, cut them off at the base of the leaf.
— Note: Bristlenose plecos and other plecos have been known to eat sword plants, so watch out for this if you see holes in the leaves.

How to Propagate Red Melon Sword

Sword plants reproduce by sending out a horizontal runner with a little plantlet at the end. The plantlet will sprout its own leaves and roots that grow into the ground. You can cut off the plantlet and re-plant it in a different location.