Most sword plants give you one colour. Echinodorus 'Rainbow' gives you marbled leaves running white, pale green, yellow, pink and red on the same plant — a hybrid derived from Echinodorus cordifolius 'Harbich Red'. It grows slowly and feeds heavily at the roots, so what it asks for is patience and a well-fed substrate rather than difficulty. What You'll Receive Sold as loose bare-root plants, bunched plants, or potted plants: Fresh-Cut Plants: Approximately 1 individual bare-root plants Bunched Plants: Approximately 1 plants bundled with foam and a plant weight Potted Plants: Approximately 1 plants rooted in rockwool and net pot Plant Profile Common name — Rainbow Sword Scientific name — Echinodorus 'Rainbow' Also known as — Dwarf Rainbow Sword Parentage — Derived from Echinodorus cordifolius 'Harbich Red' Placement — Midground to background Mature height — 10–16 in Growth rate — Slow Care Difficulty — Intermediate Light — Medium to high CO₂ — Recommended Water — 68–82°F · pH 6.5–7.5 Substrate — Required. Heavy root feeder — nutrient substrate and root tabs Growth habit — Amphibious. Also grows emersed Propagation — Adventitious plantlets on flower stalks Grower's Notes Root tabs are not optional. This is a heavy root feeder — it takes almost everything it needs from the substrate. In inert gravel with liquid dosing alone it stalls and the colours wash out, and people mistake that for the plant being difficult. Slow growth is normal. Rainbow is not a fast sword. Expect a few leaves a season, not a flush of new growth every month — which is also why it stays in proportion in a mid-sized tank. Variegation can revert. Under weak light or thin feeding a marbled plant will often start pushing plain green leaves. Steady light and root feeding are what hold the colour. It propagates from flower stalks, not runners. A settled plant sends up an inflorescence carrying plantlets along its length. Let each grow roots and three or four leaves before cutting it free. Expect the first set of leaves to melt as it converts from emersed growth. Leave the crown planted — at substrate level, never below — and wait for the second flush, which shows the real colours. Want to go deeper? Read our complete Amazon Sword (Echinodorus) Care Guide. Notes Some leaf melt may occur as the plant transitions from emersed to submerged growth. New leaves will adapt and thrive under proper conditions. Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.
