01
Overview
H'ra earned its reputation in competition scapes, where trimmed stands flow downhill like lava against grey rock. Its color runs orange to blood red, and its habit is negotiable: upright if ignored, creeping if cut relentlessly.
Size note: The low, creeping form depends on strong light, stable added CO₂, and repeated trimming; it grows upright when allowed.
02
Aquascaping use
Drape it over hardscape shoulders or bank it into rolling midground hills; it is the definitive plant for slope work. Mass planting is essential, as single stems mean nothing.
03
Planting
Plant dense plugs of several stems each, centimeters apart, anticipating the repeated trims that build a mounded canopy.
Flexible
04
Light & CO₂
Strong light plus stable CO₂ produce the creeping red form; less energy gives an upright pink plant that is still pretty but not the point. Consistency beats intensity.
05
Substrate & fertilization
Rich, even column dosing; many growers trim nitrogen slightly to warm the color, at some cost to vigor. Never starve it outright.
Feeding behavior: Water-column feeder. Nutrient demand: high.
06
Growth, trimming & propagation
Cut hard and often, shaping the canopy lower than feels safe; regrowth is fast and denser each cycle. Replant healthy tops to thicken thin spots.
Topping and replanting
07
Common problems
- !Grows plainly upright without hard trimming
- !Fades toward pink in moderate conditions
- !Dense canopies shade out their own base layer
