Echinodorus Marble Queen

Marble Queen is a variegated cultivar, selected in cultivation for leaves streaked and speckled with cream and white over green. No two leaves carry the same pattern, and the variegation is strongest on newer growth. It is worth understanding what variegation costs the plant: pale tissue holds less chlorophyll, so this cultivar grows more slowly than a plain green sword and is less forgiving of a poor substrate.

Aquarium care

• Feed through the substrate. Root tabs are the practical way to keep the marbling coming.
• Set the crown level with the substrate surface, roots down, growing point exposed.
• Pale areas of the leaf show algae much more obviously than green ones, so avoid overlighting.
• Expect the emersed-grown leaves it arrives with to melt back and be replaced by submerged ones.
• Trim damaged or heavily algae-covered leaves at the base to push energy into new growth.

Suited to aquarists who want one striking plant rather than a dense jungle. Give it a mid-ground or background position in a calm community tank; avoid pairing it with determined diggers such as large cichlids.

Stock varies from week to week. Collect at our Lethbridge store. Further sword plants are listed online.