How to grow Staurogyne repens

Staurogyne repens grows taller than carpet plants such as Utricularia graminifolia, but is still much shorter than typical stem plants. It will grow densely and hug the hardscape in higher light levels. It is ideal for intermediate placement between carpet plants and taller mid/background plants.

Introduction

Staurogyne repens is native to South America and has become popular in the hobby for its versatility in aquascaping. It is a short green stem plant that forms dense bushes under higher light levels. Its ability to be pruned into nice contours and its short height make it great for aquascaping. It blends well with other plants and is useful in aquascapes that want to express a sense of natural plant mixing. Higher light levels cause the plant to spread sideways into the surrounding area with a creeping stem, while lower light levels cause the plant to grow vertically with longer internodes like a typical stem plant. The plant will also grow more upright in crowded conditions.

Because it does not grow as fast as other common stems, it can be easily shaded by more aggressive growers. Therefore, it is best placed in the middle or foreground of the tank with some distance from surrounding plants where it can receive unobstructed light.

Staurogyne repens is not a demanding plant compared to other difficult aquatic plant species, but it is not as hardy as species typically grown in low-tech tanks such as water wisteria. It grows to its best form in CO2 injected tanks, although it is also commonly used in non CO2 injected tanks - where it takes a more vertical form and grows less densely.

It grows well in aquasoil or clay soil, but its hardiness means that it will grow well in inert substrate as long as there are other ways for it to get the nutrients it needs.

Staurogyne repens rot/melting

This is a problem unique to Staurogyne repens. When conditions are unstable and the tank goes through some fluctuations, or when the plant is still acclimating to a new tank, it is susceptible to a type of melting that spreads to neighboring plants (both neighboring Staurogyne plants as well as other species). It is unconfirmed what exactly causes this; whether it is a virus/bacteria etc.. However, its occurrence is common enough that we have studied its general progression in a tank. It usually starts with pale, translucent brown spots in the leaf (red circle below), which then spread to surrounding plants, eventually leading to melting of entire leaves. This melting will often spread to other plant species. In many cases, however, the bare stems can recover after the melting process has passed. There is no known cure at this time (2021), although improving the overall growing conditions may help the batch recover more quickly. Tank instability and large parameter shifts - ammonia spikes, etc - can trigger melting. It is much more common in new setups and newly planted plants and rare in established plants.

If caught early, the affected leaves should be completely removed. Sometimes this is enough to limit the spread.

Early stages of Staurogyne melt; if all affected leaves are removed, the spread can be stopped. A single brown spot is often enough to diagnose the disease.

Key success factors

• Sufficient light (70-90 umols of PAR) causes more lateral growth, insufficient light causes more vertical growth. At least 50umols of PAR on the substrate level is recommended.

• Overall tank stability and biological maturity prevents melting. Read more on this here.

• CO2 injection gives better density, leaf size, and plant health.

• Can be grown well in hard water, and tolerate a large range of water parameters.

• Inadequate fertilization will result in patchy or pale leaves; regular fertilization should be applied either through the root zone or water column.

Trimming and propagation

Staurogyne repens takes pruning very well. The creeping rhizome or stem can be cut at a leaf node and the remaining stem will send up new shoots. Staurogyne repens bushes tolerate overcrowding well - meaning they can become large and dense over time without suffering too much, making them great for low maintenance aquascapes.

Overcrowded bushes tend to deteriorate at the bottom. This means that large bushes that are not frequently trimmed can have mostly bare stems in the lower levels. The aquarist has two choices. You can trim the Staurogyne repens bush frequently and keep it low, which will allow the bush to rejuvenate itself, or you can trim it once in a long time, by which time the bottoms may have started to deteriorate and you would need to replant the tops.

Propagation is easy as with other stem plants. Just cut off a length of the top shoot (about an inch or longer for easier planting) and plant directly into the substrate.