Pogostemon stellatus 'Adelaide River' in Oliver Czech's tank

The usual commercial form of P. stellatus (synonym Eusteralis stellata) tends to die back at the tip of the shoot and become stunted for unknown reasons, even with the best care and the best water values.

March 3, 2017 Customer aquariums Eudrakon P, Ferrdrakon, Pogostemon, stellatus, Adelaide, Ferrdrakon K

The variant from the Adelaide River in Australia only shows this behaviour to a much lesser extent.

During a telephone consultation, we also discussed the fact that the usual commercial form of Pogostemon stellatus (synonym Eusteralis stellata) tends to die back at the tip of the shoot and become stunted for unknown reasons, even with the best care and the best water values. It is therefore almost impossible to achieve a visually appealing stand with it.

I offered to occasionally send some stems of the interesting variety from the Australian Adelaide River, which has been cultivated in Germany and Austria for several years. It has a fresh green base colour, which tends towards bronze in bright light, and pink leaf undersides. The whorled leaves are not rounded as in the 'normal form' but pointed, and the stem can reach the thickness of a small finger. To top it all off, the tips of the shoots tend to be barely stunted. I don't understand why this variant, which is much easier for aquarists to care for despite its more distinctive appearance, is not more widespread in nurseries.

When I received some pictures from Oliver Czech a few days ago, I was very excited to see what he had done with the handful of puny stems in the meantime.

Water values and fertilisation

NO₃: 10 - 15 mg/l
PO₄: 0.4 mg/l
pH: 6.3
KH: 2 - 2.5° dH
Fe: 0.05 mg/l
4 ml Ferrdrakon and 2 ml Ferrdrakon K daily
0.4 mg/l Eudrakon P every 2 days
Illumination daily 12 h with 4 radium lights Light colour 860