Green Macrandra

Rotala macrandra is one of the more demanding stems in the hobby, and the 'Green' form is the milder-coloured member of the group. It grows at 24 to 28 °C with pH 4.5 to 7, in soft water, under bright light and with CO₂ running; it is the plant German shops sell as Rotala macrandra 'Wavy'.

Its appearance tracks the light more than anything else. Under moderate lighting it carries light green leaves with weakly sawed margins on reddish stems; as the light goes up the blades turn ovate-round and the whole plant takes on red. In a tank it is usually kept to around 30 cm and planted in groups toward the back, where the colour reads against green stems.

The difficulty is not in getting it to grow but in keeping it full. It drops lower leaves when nitrogen runs short, so steady dosing does more for a dense group than frequent trimming. Cuttings root without much trouble, which makes replacing a leggy stem the simplest fix.