Eriocaulon species have become more common as their requirements have become better understood. Soft water (less than 2 dKH) with rich aquasoil and sufficient CO2 at substrate level make them rather easy plants to grow. These plants are very responsive to root fertilisation. Forgiving varieties such as Eriocaulon vietnam can be grown at lower light and CO2 levels, while fussy varieties such as Eriocaulon quinguangulare do much better at higher light and CO2 levels. Older leaves melting faster than new ones are growing and poor root formation (roots should be bright white and firm, not grey and soft) are two clear signs that the plant is not growing well. Robust plants also have stiff rather than soft leaves and the leaf arrangement is neat rather than uneven.

The roots of many Eriocaulons can be longer than the leaves. (Note the bright white roots)

The light green Eriocaulon cuspidatum stands out among the red Eriocaulon quinguangulare, and a foreground of Centrolepis drummondiana "Blood vomit". All share similar growth conditions.

Propagating Eriocaulon species

There are two main methods to propagate submerged grown Eriocaulons vegetatively (without going through a flowering cycle).

1. Separation of crowns from naturally divided mother plant

Many Eriocaulon species naturally produce baby plantlets/side shoots as they grow larger. In some cases, baby plantlets are produced when the plant goes through a period of stress or instability, such as a change in growth conditions or when the plant is moved. If many baby plantlets are produced at the same time, this can lead to overcrowding and deterioration of the clump as a whole, so it is better to separate the plants when the daughters reach a suitable size.

For plants that naturally produce side shoots, it is important to be able to identify whole plants and separate them cleanly without damaging them too much.

Eriocaulons grow new leaves outwards from a central crown; it'll look like all the leaves are growing from a single point. On plants that have plantlets, it'll look like the leaves are growing from different points. A good time to divide the plant is when the crowns are clearly distinct from the main cluster. Each distinct crown can be separated as a new plant. Maintaining the integrity of each crown and being able to separate them undamaged will give each plant a better chance of survival.

Using Centrolepis drummondiana "Blood vomit" as an example (it is not an Eriocaulon, but the propagation is the same), the 3 white arrows show that the leaves originate from 3 separate points. Each is a separate crown that can be separated into a single plant.

Here we compare a couple of Eriocaulon ratnagiricum; plant 1 consists of a single crown with leaves neatly arranged from a central point. Whereas plant 2 looks messy because it has leaves sprouting from several crowns. Plant 2 can be uprooted and divided into individual plants.

Here, most of the red Eriocaulon quinquangulare are single crowns, except for ones pointed out by red arrows. Those two bunches can be up rooted and separated into individual crowns. 

Large clumps can often be split into many plants. This clump of Eriocaulon quinquangulare was split into more than 10 smaller plants.

To separate the plants, you can use tweezers to gently pull them apart. For some species that are small or delicate (such as blood vomit) it is easier to use a blade to separate the crowns (and root zone). For Eriocaulon quinguangulare, the crowns can easily be separated by hand, which is what we have done above.

Here a multi-crowned Eriocaulon ratnagiricum is divided into many small individual plants. These are tiny, about 1 cm in size, and so require quite a lot of care. They are a bit small to pick apart with your fingers, so we use tweezers to separate them for the above.

Once the plants are separated, they can be planted as individual plants. Add one APT Jazz capsule to the root ball when planting for accelerated growth. Remember to give each plant enough space to grow into. Plantlets may start small but many will reach a large adult size.

2. Manual splitting of matured plant

Some species of Eriocaulons do not easily produce plantlets. Others can take a long time to divide naturally as the central clump just gets bigger with time. In such cases, manually dividing the crown is the way to get more plants quickly. This is a stressful process for the plant, so it needs to be in good condition to be successful. A good size to divide Eriocaulons is when they are at least half the size of a full grown plant. For Eriocaulon ratnagiricum, full size is about 2.5 to 3 inches, so a plant that is about 1 inch plus can be divided.

Step 1 is to split the mother plant straight down the middle with a sharp blade. The division of Eriocaulon cuspidatum and Eriocaulon ratnagiricum is shown below. The shape of the blade prevents you from crushing the leaves. It is a straight cut down the middle. In some cases it may be easier to cut upwards from the root area rather than through the leaves.

After dividing, both halves are planted. However, 1 of 2 things can happen. 1 - the half plant will grow a single new crown from the cut point which will merge with the older half of the crown; becoming a single adult plant. 2 - multiple plantlets grow from the cut half; this often leads to overcrowding over time, so in this scenario the plant would need to be uprooted again after a while to separate the multiple plantlets.

In the case of the Eriocaulon cuspidatum above, each half grew into individual plants (as shown below).

Flowering and life cycles

Some Eriocaulons do not flower regularly under water (Eriocaulon ratnagiricum, quinguangulare, cuspidatum, Shinga, Sieboldianum). Others may flower infrequently without significant effect and continue to produce side shoots. However, some species flower under water as a sign of the end of their life cycle (E. polaris, cinereum). Such species should be divided before the end of their life cycle to ensure a constant supply of new baby plants.

When flowers appear, some species will put all their energy into flowering and stop leaf growth. Pulling out the flowers will stop this process and allow the energy to be channeled back into leaf growth. However, for some Eriocaulon species that are triggered by flowering at the end of their life cycle, removing the flowers will not stop the process.

In a few Eriocaulons, such as E. polaris, baby plantlets can grow from the flower stalk. This also happens with E. Cinereum if the flower stems can break through the water line. Baby plantlets can be harvested directly from the flowers and planted.

Stable tank conditions and cooler temperatures will generally discourage early flowering.