Rotala 'H'ra': the fiery orange-red aquascaping stem
Rotala rotundifolia · S & SE Asia
A selected form of Rotala rotundifolia whose fine tips blaze orange and red under bright light — one of the most-planted background reds in modern aquascaping.
A named form of a familiar plant
Rotala 'H'ra' is a selected form of Rotala rotundifolia, in the loosestrife family (Lythraceae) and native to South and Southeast Asia. The name traces to Hra, in Vietnam, where this form was collected. It circulates under several trade names and is closely associated with, and sometimes sold interchangeably with, forms such as 'Blood Red' and 'Bloody Mary' — another instance of the naming looseness common among aquascaping reds — but all are prized for the same thing: intense warm colour.
Fine leaves, fiery tips
Submersed, the leaves are narrow and needle-fine — despite the species name rotundifolia ('round-leaved'), which describes only the emersed form — carried in close whorls up slender stems. Under strong light the tops blaze orange to deep red, shading to green lower down and in shade. In numbers it makes a soft, flame-coloured cloud, and it is grown almost entirely for that colour and fine texture.
Colour is earned with light
Treat 'H'ra' as medium difficulty. It grows easily enough, but its colour is light-driven above all: give it strong light and it colours; leave it in shade and it stays green. Stable CO2 is strongly beneficial and effectively needed for the best result in a bright tank. Many aquascapers also keep nitrate leaner to push redder tips — this is a widely reported practitioner technique rather than a hard rule, and it must be balanced against starving the plant, so treat it as a nudge, not a law. Feed the water column and keep conditions steady.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Lighting | Medium to high; colour needs strong light |
| CO2 | Strongly beneficial; needed for the best colour |
| Temperature | 20–28°C |
| pH | 5.5–7.0 |
| Hardness | Soft to moderately hard |
| Fertiliser | Water-column feeder; many scapers keep nitrate leaner for redder tips |
| Substrate | Any; nutritious substrate helps |
| Growth rate | Fast |
| Placement | Background to midground |
| Difficulty | Medium |
A background of flame
Planted in a dense group at the back, 'H'ra' gives a scape a warm, flame-coloured mass that contrasts beautifully with green stems and dark wood. Its fine texture reads well in numbers and it responds to trimming by branching into an ever-denser bush, so it is a staple for the classic 'Dutch' and nature-style coloured backgrounds. Keep the tops near the light for the strongest colour.
Top, replant, repeat
Propagation is the usual stem-plant routine: cut the coloured tops and replant them, and the remaining stems branch below to thicken the group. Because the best colour is at the tips, regular topping and replanting keeps a group looking its most vivid. Trimmings root readily, so a few stems quickly become a full background.
Green instead of red
Staying green is the number-one complaint and almost always means too little light reaching the plant; raise the light or thin whatever is shading it before adjusting anything else. Thin, stretched stems with wide gaps also point to low light. Stunted tips in a high-tech tank usually reflect unstable CO2 or a micronutrient gap rather than disease. As always, some melt after planting is the normal emersed-to-submersed change.
More plants in this series
- Rotala rotundifolia — the green parent form
- Rotala macrandra — deep-red large-leaved Rotala
- Rotala wallichii — fine pink-red Rotala
- Ludwigia super red — easier solid-red stem
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