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Description
- Clover-like carpeting plant
- Easily separates into multiple plant starts
- 100% clean with no algae, duckweed, or snails
Marsilea hirsuta is a relatively easy-to-grow foreground plant that will carpet your aquarium like a field of clovers. The rounded leaves are bright green and may develop one to four lobes, depending on the environment. The plant ranges from 0.75–4 inches (2–10 cm) in height and stays shorter in medium to high lighting, which means minimal trimming is needed. Provide a nutrient-rich substrate (such as aquatic soil or a well-established, non-soil substrate) or plenty of root tabs for optimal growth.
- Scientific Name: Marsilea hirsuta
- Native To: Australia
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Skill Level: Easy
- Placement: Foreground
- Recommended Light: Medium Light 20-35 PAR (click to see our PAR chart)
- CO2 Requirement: Low to none
- Preferred Fertilizer: Easy Root Tabs and Easy Green liquid fertilizer
- Propagation: Spreads via runners across the ground
***Being a natural product, the plant appearance can vary from what is shown.***
How to Plant Marsilea Hirsuta
1. Upon receiving the tissue culture plant, immediately open the container and rinse off any excess liquid from the roots.
2. Gently separate the plant into multiple small clumps.
3. Insert each plant start or clump into the substrate using planting tweezers or your fingers so that the roots are completely buried but the leaves are above the substrate.
4. Once the plant has become well-established, you can trim the tips with plant scissors for a tidier look.
5. Make sure to add lots of root tabs if you’re using inert substrate or if your nutrient-rich substrate is depleted.
How to Grow Marsilea Hirsuta
— Marsilea hirsuta care is fairly easy, so start by using medium lighting between 20-35 PAR.
— Why is my Marsilea hirsuta melting? This plant is grown out of the water at the farm and needs time to create new leaves that are used to living underwater. To help the plant recover faster and grow new leaves that are accustomed to your water parameters, leave the roots planted in the ground and make sure to provide nutrient-rich planted tank substrate or Easy Root Tabs.
— Why is my Marsilea hirsuta turning yellow? If your plant is getting enough light, it may be a nutrient deficiency. If the leaves are yellowing or turning pale after a couple of months, please add more root tabs.
— How to trim Marsilea hirsuta: If the plant has dying or melting leaves, cut them off at the base of the leaf stem. If you wish to prune your Marsilea hirsuta carpet to look like a field of grass, use curved scissors to cut all of the leaves to an even height, much like mowing a lawn.
How to Propagate Marsilea Hirsuta
Once it becomes well-established, Marsilea hirsuta self-propagates by sending out runners all across the substrate, which can eventually provide ground cover for an entire aquarium. The new baby plants can be trimmed off and replanted or left to grow out naturally.
