Pogostemon octopus

Description

Genus: Pogostemon                                                                           Family: Lamiaceae

Pogostemon is a large genus from the family Lamiaceae and many of them can grow in submerged conditions. The are generally found in warmer parts of Asia. P. erectus, P. helferi and P. stellatus ‘Dassen’ are quite popular in the trade.

Pogostemon erectus

Pogostemon erectus is originally from India. It is a green stem plant with a little yellow at the leaf tips when grow in higher light with sufficient nutrients available. It grows vertically in neat upright fashion. Its neat growth form makes it an effective background bush for larger aquascapes . Trimming off the tops allows the bottom portion to branch multiple buds. Its moderate growth speed compared to faster growing stem plants means that this plant can be used in the midground as well.

It is not a difficult plant to grow in general. It stunts often if grown in the combination of hard water and heavy water column nutrient dosing. In hardwater tanks, root feeding the plant and keeping water column dosing lean prevents stunting.