How to grow Xyris red (Xyris smalliana)

Introduction

Xyris smalliana is a rosette plant that has only recently entered the aquarium hobby after US collectors discovered that it can grow well submerged for long periods. The plant was originally collected in the south of the USA. It belongs to a family of flowering grasses that grow in bogs where the soil is wet all year round. It has fan-shaped leaves that sprout from a central rosette - the plant grows redder in high light and low nitrogen conditions, and greener in low light. Baby plants start at around an inch tall, but the full size plant is much larger at 10+ cm tall. Smaller plants will generally take a long time (many months) to reach full size as it is a slow growing plant.

Xyris smalliana is not a difficult plant to grow as long as you have bright enough light, but it does grow slowly. It is tolerant of low CO2/nutrient levels as long as the environment is stable. If growth conditions are poor, it will start to die back from the outer leaves - but as this is usually slow, it gives the aquarist time to react and improve growth conditions. It likes more light than other aquarium plants and should not be shaded. Xyris grows very well in soil/aquasoil based tanks and will develop a huge root system over time.

As it has almost vertical leaves, the planting position in the tank can have a significant effect on the amount of light it receives. Plant it in a position where light rays can hit the plant at an angle.

It grows best in very soft water, although it can tolerate slightly hard water.

A larger size specimen, baby plants will take many months to reach this size.

The cell structure of Xyris leaves can be clearly seen under bright lighting.

Key success factors:

Xyris red grown with APT Jazz and APT complete from the 2hr Aquarist gallery.

• Strong lighting. (100 umols of PAR and above) greatly improves success rates.

• CO2 injection, even at lower saturation (10ppm+), greatly improves success rates.

• Soft water

• A rich substrate will speed up growth. This may be desirable as the plant is very slow growing. Can also be grown with a rich water column and inert substrate.

• Long term tank stability and consistent parameters.

Trimming and propagation

Xyris red will naturally produce baby plants at the base as it grows. These smaller plants can be detached manually by cutting with scissors or simply twisting with your hands. Plants that have their own root system and decent sized leaves have a much higher success rate when detached. When pulling baby plants, try to separate them with some roots still attached. If you are worried that the smaller plants will be too delicate to handle, you can wait until the baby plants are about an inch tall before removing them.