# Lobelia Cardinalis (Cardinal plant)



## Sake

Can't say for sure what it is, but you have to remember petsmart plants are grown emersed style. When plants go from emersed to immersed they can change a lot.


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## Jalopy

Looks like you got them in the gel pack. I have these too. You need to separate them out and plant them stem by stem or else they will probably rot. It took 2 packs of these for me to get it right. You have the cardinal plant but it will have pale green leaves under water. The red color comes from growing above water.


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## jmf3460

I agree, you need to separate them, trust us they will get bigger. I did mine in two's instead of single stems, sometimes three's. It is a beautiful plant. Nice cories, I like your substrate also.


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## OrangeAugust

Jalopy said:


> Looks like you got them in the gel pack. I have these too. You need to separate them out and plant them stem by stem or else they will probably rot. It took 2 packs of these for me to get it right. You have the cardinal plant but it will have pale green leaves under water. The red color comes from growing above water.


Ok, thanks. Each clump looked like they were all held together with one root system but I will try to split them up some more and re-plant them.
Maybe that's why I could never get dwarf hairgrass to grow...


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## Sierra255

If it is truly Lobelia cardinalis, it is not a true aquatic. But I've always seen it with dark green and red leaves that are small and round. There is another cardinalis plant that is a true aquatic, but I'm having a mental block trying to remember its name.


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## Sierra255

OK, after a little research, the plant I was thinking of is Alternanthera reineckii 'Cardinalis'. That's definitely not what you have, it's a very red plant. I think you do have Lobelia cardinalis, just in a different form than what I'm used to seeing. But everywhere I look, it says it isn't a true aquatic. It can withstand being submerged in its infancy, but won't last long term. Then again, there are lots of people having success with it. Below, I've put the link to the profile on this site. I've come to the conclusion that I'm confused.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myPlants.php?do=view&p=75&n=Cardinal_Flower_Lobelia_cardinalis


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## Orangespotted

Had _Lobelia cardinalis_ in my tanks for years, from a single original small potted Petsmart purchase I have managed to carpet a 10 gallon. If that doesn't prove it's aquatic I don't know what will. Mine is the dwarf variety, though the larger variety is still out there. Sierra255, your confusion stems from the fact that leaves grown on an emersed form plant look different than those on a submersed form plant. The emersed leaves are dark green with purple undersides. The light green, small leaves on OrangeAugust's plant are the submersed grown type, which is pretty nice considering it came from Petsmart. Many people get confused when growing Cardinal plant because it drops all of its emersed form leaves when they put it under water, and it pretty much looks like the plant has died. But in the right conditions and with a little time, the small light green leaves will appear and the plant will grow nicely. No, it doesn't get red or purple underwater, the name of the plant refers to its red flowers when grown emersed.


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## Jalopy

Orangespotted said:


> Had _Lobelia cardinalis_ in my tanks for years, from a single original small potted Petsmart purchase I have managed to carpet a 10 gallon. If that doesn't prove it's aquatic I don't know what will. Mine is the dwarf variety, though the larger variety is still out there. Sierra255, your confusion stems from the fact that leaves grown on an emersed form plant look different than those on a submersed form plant. The emersed leaves are dark green with purple undersides. The light green, small leaves on OrangeAugust's plant are the submersed grown type, which is pretty nice considering it came from Petsmart. Many people get confused when growing Cardinal plant because it drops all of its emersed form leaves when they put it under water, and it pretty much looks like the plant has died. But in the right conditions and with a little time, the small light green leaves will appear and the plant will grow nicely. No, it doesn't get red or purple underwater, the name of the plant refers to its red flowers when grown emersed.


+1 on the comment. I just want to add that with my high tech setup, none of the leaves fell off during a dry start and after flooding. I had no luck with it when it was just Excel and Flourish.


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## wastewater

*+2* ~ strongly agree with Jalopy & Orangespotted.
With good growing conditions, and time, this plant will definitely reward you. I use the 'small form' of Lobelia cardinalis as a foreground plant. The leaves are roundish with a nice light green color. Seems to do well with good light, CO2, and micro/macro ferts. Also stays pretty compact under higher lighting.

Front center, between the two patches of Staurogyne repens


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## Xiaozhuang

Nice subwassertang foreground~


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## Orangespotted

Nice picture and tank, wastewater! Bright and healthy. It also reminds me of another reason why I like this plant - the light veins and leaf shape remind me of stardust dwarf Anubias, but actually grows leaves more often than once in a blue moon!


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## OrangeAugust

Thanks, everyone!


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