Amazon Sword Mother Plant, Extra Large (Echinodorus bleheri) – Instant Background for Natural Aquariums
Skip the waiting. Start with a full-grown sword.
The Amazon Sword (Echinodorus grisebachii 'Bleherae', sold as E. bleheri) is the classic background plant: a fountain of broad green leaves that can reach 20+ inches tall and wide. A mother plant gives you that look from day one, with runners already making the next generation.
The problem
Small swords take months to fill a background, and in inert gravel they starve without root tabs.
The Father Fish way
Amazon swords are heavy root feeders, the clearest case for the Father Fish method. Living soil under a sand cap feeds them for years with no tabs, no CO2 and no liquid fertilizers.
Your plan
- Plant the roots, not the crowns. Spread the roots into the sand cap, keep each crown fully above the sand, and never bury it in the soil. The roots find the soil below.
- Give it room and time. Expect some outer farm-grown leaves to melt in the first weeks. New underwater leaves replace them.
- Prune and propagate. Remove old outer leaves at the base so it doesn't shade the plants below. Plantlets on the flowering runners can be replanted.
What you get
- A mother plant of at least 3 large plants with flowering runners
- Mature size 20+ inches tall and wide, a background plant for larger tanks
- Low to medium light. 64–86°F, best 72–79°F. Soft or hard water.
Why it matters
A buried crown rots and a starved sword yellows. Planted right in living soil, it anchors your tank for years.
Want something smaller? See the Amazon Sword, Large.
FAQ
- Why are leaves melting? Farm-grown leaves are converting to underwater leaves.
- Do I need root tabs? Not in a soil-based tank.
- How deep do I plant it? Keep the crowns above the sand. Only the roots go in.
- Bleheri or amazonicus? Both names now refer to the same species.
