Propagating Long Beach Primrose (Ludwigia Brevipes)

Propagating Long Beach Primrose

(Ludwigia Brevipes)

By Joy Twentyman-Crock

Ludwigia Brevipes is a relatively new plant to me. I’ve found it to be a very easy and rewarding stem plant to work with.

I’m currently growing my Ludwigia Brevipes in a 10 gallon standard tank. For lighting I’m using a Current 80 watt compact fluorescent fixture with 1 dual daylight and 1 50/50 bulb which is on for 12 hours a day, which provides very high light. I perform 50% water changes once a week using tap water treated with AmQuel. CO2 is injected into the tank using a DIY CO2 setup consisting of 2 x 1 liter bottles for CO2 generation and an Inline DIY CO2 Reactor powered by an 80 GPH water pump. With this setup the CO2 averages between 45-60ppm. I currently dose dry fertilizers based on a slightly modified EI method. Since there is Nitrates in the tap water, I skip the first dose of KNO3 after the water change and dose some extra K2SO4 to make up for the Potassium that would have been dosed with the KNO3. Exact amounts vary slightly as I work to find the best balance for dosing to obtain good plant growth and minimize algae.

Ludwigia Brevipes makes an excellent background plant for this tank and needs regular pruning. The top of the stems nearest the light turn a very appealing shade of red. It almost grows too fast for a 10 gallon and would probably be even better suited to a larger tank. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for a tank any smaller than a 10 gallon as it grows much too fast. Like most stem plants you can top in and either replant the tops or let the bottoms continue to grow producing bushier growth. Within two to four weeks of introducing this plant to the 10 gallon it had filled in forming a nice think background. It must be pruned at least every two weeks to prevent it from blocking the light from plants in the rest of the tank.

Like many plants that can turn beautiful shades of red, Nitrate limitation can be used to bring out even more vibrant shades of red in Ludwigia Brevipes. I’ve found that this plant displays beautiful red coloration even without Nitrate limitation while keeping it in my tank.

I would recommend keeping Ludwigia Brevipes in high light tanks to see its best color. It may also be grown in medium light tanks but would probably remain green. It is an easy plant to care for as long as you provide it with good lighting and nutrients.

Bibliography

PlantGeek.Net 2002-2006, Plant Guide [On-line] http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php, July 28^th, 2006