Ludwigia palustris 'Super Red': grower data and color

What the grower data says

Tropica rates ‘Super Red’ easy, with low light and CO2 demand and medium growth, and stems 10–30 cm ^[1]. Aquasabi agrees on easy and no need for added CO2, but rates growth fast and light medium, with a care height of 15–60 cm ^[3].

The “low light” rating describes survival, not color. Tropica’s plant page says the plant “becomes intensely red and grows better” with good light and added CO2 ^[1], and its article is blunter: it is in the easy category but needs strong lighting for the best color and compact growth. In lower light the gaps between leaves lengthen, the leaves stay a duller green-red and the lower leaves may drop ^[2].

Feeding

Tropica’s article calls Ludwigia palustris a nitrogen-hungry plant, which needs regular fertilizing in tanks with strong light and CO2, and says it does best in a nutrient-rich substrate ^[2]. Its fast growth also makes it useful in a new aquarium: the article suggests it as a starter plant whose growth and nutrient uptake help prevent the algae common in new tanks ^[2]. See nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium for the nitrate arithmetic.

Placement, trimming and propagation

Aquasabi lists it for the middle ground and background and as a color accent ^[3]; Tropica’s article calls it an ideal background plant and a possible focal point against green plants and dark wood ^[2].

It forms side shoots on its own, and cutting increases them, so the group becomes denser after each trim ^[1]. Cut-off shoots quickly grow new roots when planted ^[1]. Over time the article recommends removing the lower portions of the stems and replanting the healthy tops, a cycle that can be repeated for the life of the layout ^[2]. The plant also grows aerial roots along the stems, which can be left or trimmed ^[2].

Names and taxonomy

Tropica distinguishes ‘Super Red’ from its relative Ludwigia repens ‘Rubin’: ‘Super Red’ is smaller and turns red more easily ^[1], and the article notes there is some confusion between the two species ^[2].

The World Checklist of Vascular Plants accepts Ludwigia palustris (L.) Elliott in the evening-primrose family Onagraceae; Linnaeus first described it as Isnardia palustris, and the combination in Ludwigia was published in Elliott’s Sketch of the Botany of South Carolina in 1817 ^[4], matching the article’s history ^[2]. Tropica’s origin field reads “Cosmopolitan” ^[1], and the checklist agrees in spirit: its native range spans 105 regions across North and Central America, Europe, Africa and western Asia ^{[4, 5]}. It records the species as introduced in New South Wales, Victoria, Hawaii and Bermuda ^[4], consistent with the article’s note that it was not native to Australasia but has been introduced there ^[2].