Dark Blue is exactly what the name says — very dark leaves carrying a blue metallic cast that shows under decent light and disappears under warm white. It is one of the most affordable ways into the blue end of the Bucephalandra range. What You'll Receive Sold as a Bunched Plants or Potted Plants. Pictures are not the actual plants you will receive, but a sample representation. Plant Profile Common name — Dark Blue Buce Scientific name — Bucephalandra sp. 'Dark Blue' Also known as — Buce, Bucep Origin — Borneo (genus range) Placement — Foreground to midground, attached to hardscape Mature height — 2-4 inches Growth rate — Slow Care Difficulty — Beginner Light — Low to medium. Too much light brings algae the plant is too slow to outgrow. CO₂ — Not required Water — 72-82°F, pH 6.0-7.5 Substrate — None needed. Epiphyte; feeds from the water column. Growth habit — Amphibious rhizome creeper; grows submersed or emersed Propagation — Rhizome division Grower's Notes Your light source decides whether this plant is blue. The color is a surface reflection, not a pigment. Under RGB or full-spectrum lighting it reads clearly blue; under warm white the same plant looks dark green. Nothing is wrong with the plant — check the light before assuming you received the wrong thing. Never bury the rhizome. Tie or glue it to wood or rock and leave it exposed; buried rhizomes rot. Farm-raised, not wild-collected. All the Bucephalandra we carry is farm-grown, and much of it is raised from tissue culture rather than collected from Borneo. Give it flow. Bucephalandra are rheophytes from fast Borneo streams, and moderate current keeps the leaves clean of debris and algae. Some leaf melt after shipping is normal. The rhizome survives and pushes new submersed leaves within a few weeks. Want to go deeper? Read our complete Bucephalandra Care Guide. Notes Pictures are not the actual plants you will receive, but a sample representation. Unless specific, we don't guarantee aquatic plants will be free of pests, pesticides, grow emerged, or submerge. Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.
