Pogostemon stellatus 'Purple Octopus'
Pogostemon stellatus 'Octopus' (Purple Water Star - ABC Plants Cultivar)
A fantastic stem plant from South East Asia that makes for a great background display with it's unique long, thick leaves foliage that branch out densely and turn a vibrant red to purple color at the top.
This plant is not very damanding and can easily be grown in a low tech tank. Given good lighting and CO2 supplementation, our variant of this plant will produce shorter but denser foliage as well as vibrant purple leaves near the tops of each stem!
QUICK NOTES:
Difficulty: Easy
Type: Stem
Size: 15 to 50cm in height
Position and Usage: Background
Growth rate: Moderate
Lighting: 3/5 - 5/5
Water Conditions: 22 - 28°C
CO2: Recommended
Propagation: Cuttings, side shoots
Special Requirements: Substrate fertilization highly recommended; nitrate (5 - 20ppm) and phosphate (0.2 - 2ppm)
Notes: This cultivar produces stunningly bright purple foliage near the tips of each stem when there is good lighting and CO2.
Description
Pogostemon stellatus, is a striking, marsh-dwelling variety native to Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. Specimens are suited to midground or background placement due to their substantial heigh, width and beautiful dense, needle-like foliage.
P. stellatus has a distinctive whorled stem with variably-coloured leaves: high nitrate and phosphate supplementation will result in green foliage whereas low levels of either nutrient will result in purple or orange foliage. Our version of this plant produces strikingly brilliant purple leaves near the top of each stem (similar to Limnophila hippuridoides) but is a more voluminous plant with longer individual leaves and a distinctive, very attractive whorl.
Pogostemon stellatus is considered to be an excellent indicator species for micronutrient levels to which is can be quite sensitive and will alert you before problems hit your other plants. .
This species makes a beautiful focal point or accent in the background and is not particularly difficult to cultivate. P. stellatus can be grown quite well in low tech tanks provided there is sufficient lighting and is an excellent addition to a Walstad type set-up, benefitting tremendously from a rich substrate.
When provided with CO2 supplementation (and good lighting), this species takes on a dramatic appearance, producing much denser clusters of its characteristic whorled leaves which turn a vivid purple near to top of each stem. When provided with these ideal conditions, this plant will quickly become a sight to behold and give the background of your aquascape a incredible sense of depth and color that few other background plants can match.
Like virtually all aquarium plants, P. stellatus can be grown emersed in a plaudarium, vivarium or terrarium.
