Encyclopedia - Plants for ponds
Hydrocotyle white-headed or White-headed shieldleaf
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
The plant is also known by the name white-headed shieldleaf. It is an unusual long-stemmed amphibious plant with round light-green leaves up to 4 cm in diameter. The plant reaches a height of 50 cm. It is very undemanding and fast-growing.
Hydrocotyle white-headed is usually kept in a tropical aquarium. Hydrocotyle looks very attractive when planted in the background of an aquarium. When planted in the substrate, the plant quickly reaches the water surface and spreads across it, shading the lower levels of the aquarium. To prevent other aquarium plants from suffering from lack of light, the formed carpet should be periodically thinned. Hydrocotyle can be left unrooted in the substrate and used as a floating plant. In this case it provides good shelter for fry. Hydrocotyle can be grown in aquariums of any volume.
Conditions for keeping Hydrocotyle white-headed or white-headed shieldleaf do not require any special measures. The optimal water temperature is 22-28 °C. At lower temperatures the plant's growth stops. Water hardness and active reaction do not play a significant role. The plant does well in both acidic and alkaline environments. Recommended pH is 6-8. Regular water changes are desirable. In old, long-unchanged water the plant quickly deteriorates. The type of substrate is not important for Hydrocotyle white-headed.
Hydrocotyle white-headed requires relatively strong lighting. Even slight shading causes the plant to decrease in size and it may die. For artificial lighting you can use fluorescent lamps at a rate of 0.4-0.5 W per 1 L of aquarium volume, or incandescent lamps (the power of incandescent lamps should be about three times higher). When using incandescent lamps, exercise caution, as leaves floating on the water surface may be burned. The photoperiod should be at least 12 hours.
Hydrocotyle white-headed is propagated by cuttings. Under good conditions a young plant can be obtained even from a small stem fragment with a single leaf.
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