How to Outsmart Your Aquatic Plants: Amazon Sword (Echinodorus bleheri)

Let’s first talk about planting the Amazon Sword. These plants tend to grow very tall, so it’s best to place them in the midground or background of the aquarium to avoid obstructing the view of other plants. To plant them, use your fingers to create a hole in the substrate and then bury the roots. You can also use aquascaping forceps to push the roots into the substrate. Ensure the crown — the base where the leaves emerge — remains uncovered by the substrate. Since Amazon Swords are heavy root feeders, they absorb nutrients primarily through their roots. Therefore, a good plant substrate is key to success, but you can also supplement with root tabs in non-plant substrate.

One important thing to note is that most aquarium plants are initially grown emersed at plant farms, with the tops growing out of the water. Because of this you might notice your sword plant’s large, round leaves deteriorating as the plant acclimates and begins producing longer but narrower leaves (which is what the leaves look like grown fully submerged underwater). You should trim off the deteriorating leaves, but be sure to keep the crown and roots intact to allow for new growth.

Large Amazon sword plant in a display tank.

Now let’s discuss propagating the Amazon Sword. When kept in optimal aquarium conditions, long, thin, and hard stems will emerge from the plant’s center. These stems may initially resemble leaves but will remain very thin and stem-like, even if they reach the height of the water level. At this stage, small sword blossoms will begin to appear at nodes on this stem. Allow these blossoms to develop roots before separating them. Once they have some roots, remove the offshoots and plant them elsewhere in your substrate. If you’re transferring the plantlets to another aquarium, ensure the new environment has similar substrate and water parameters, as new shoots from the parent plant can struggle to adapt to different conditions.