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Lobelia Cardinalis Mini Tissue Culture (Aquascaping Essentials)

Compact, low-growing plant whose small leaves turn reddish-purple under strong light and CO2.

Sale price $14.99 Regular price $20.99
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Tissue culture: Arrives in a densely packed cup.

Ships to New Zealand

Aquarium Plants are typically dispatched within 1 business day. Delivery times vary based on the destination. We do not ship live plants on Friday, unless specifically requested.

  • Free shipping on orders over $150. Not included: rural addresses and bulky items such as aquariums.
  • Under $150, courier is $6.80 to $9.90 depending on region, or $11.50 to $14.90 for rural addresses. The exact cost shows at checkout.
  • Rural and South Island addresses can take a little longer.

Full delivery details

Live Plant Guarantee

We want you to shop with confidence knowing your plants are covered by our Live Arrival Guarantee. Every plant is hand-picked, quality-checked, and packed with care to ensure it reaches you in healthy condition.

Our Promise

  • All live plants are guaranteed to arrive alive and healthy.
  • If your plants arrive damaged, melted, or in poor condition, we’ll replace or refund them — no hassle.
  • Just email us within 24 hours of delivery with clear photos of the affected plants and your order number.

Please Note

  • The guarantee applies only to the initial delivery.
  • Once the plants have been removed from their original packaging or planted into your aquarium, the guarantee no longer applies.
  • We can’t take responsibility for plants left exposed to extreme heat, cold, or direct sunlight after delivery, so please choose a delivery address where someone can receive the parcel promptly.

We genuinely want your aquascape to thrive — and we’ll always do our best to make things right if something goes wrong.

MediumLight
LowCO2
ModerateGrowth
BeginnerDifficulty

Placement Foreground to mid-ground

About Tissue Culture Plants

What’s the Deal with Tissue Culture Plants?
Tiny plants. Big benefits. Zero unwanted surprises.

Grown in a Lab (On Purpose)
These aren’t your average aquarium plants.

Tissue culture plants are grown in pristine lab conditions — no pests, no snails, no algae. Just vibrant, healthy growth suspended in a sealed pot of nutrient gel that looks like dessert (but please, don’t).

Why They’re a Big Deal

  • 100% algae-free — start clean, stay clean
  • No snails — unless you’re into surprise hitchhikers
  • Pesticide-free — safe for snails and sensitive fish
  • Incredible value — you get heaps of plant once it’s split and planted
  • Long shelf life — lasts weeks sealed in its cup (great for planning your scape)
  • Small in size, big on payoff

How to Use (Don’t Just Chuck It In)
Peel the lid — it’ll feel oddly satisfying

  1. Rinse off the gel (do not plant the goo)
  2. Divide into small chunks — trust us, there’s more than it looks
  3. Plant using tweezers, spaced evenly across the substrate
  4. Watch it take off like it’s been waiting its whole life to grow in your tank

Pro tip: One pot can cover a surprising amount of space — plant wisely and it’ll spread quickly.

Lab Grown, Algae Free, Snail Free.

Grown in sterile conditions with no snails, algae, or hitchhikers — the cleanest start for any freshwater tank.

Great Value in Every Cup

Each tissue culture cup contains multiple portions — simply rinse, divide, and plant. One pot can cover more ground than you'd expect!

Description

Lobelia cardinalis 'Mini' is a compact dwarf form of the classic lobelia, with small rounded leaves on short, tight stems. It stays low and neat, sitting comfortably in the foreground to mid-ground where its colour reads against darker hardscape and green carpets.

In lower light it holds fresh green foliage and a low, orderly habit. Give it stronger light along with CO2 and a nutrient-rich substrate and it develops reddish-purple undersides and accents, so you can steer the look to suit your scape. It grows at a moderate pace and takes well to a light trim, which keeps it dense and encourages side shoots. Easy going and forgiving, it settles happily in both simple and high-tech tanks and suits nano and community aquariums.

This plant is grown in sterile tissue culture and arrives in a densely packed cup, free of snails, algae, pests and disease, giving you a clean and healthy start.

Care at a glance

  • Placement: Foreground to mid-ground
  • Lighting: Medium
  • CO2: Low, not required
  • Growth rate: Moderate
  • Difficulty: Beginner
  • Colour: Green

How to plant your tissue culture Lobelia

  1. Rinse the clear nutrient gel from the base of the plant.
  2. Divide the clump into small portions.
  3. Plant each portion into the substrate with tweezers, spaced a little apart so they fill in.
  4. Leave the roots undisturbed while it settles and begins to grow.

Specifications

  • NZ Rarity
    Uncommon
  • Colour
    Green
  • 5 stars: 3 (100%)
  • 4 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 3 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 2 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 1 star: 0 (0%)
J
Jody Richardson (New Zealand)
Perfect

Perfect

R
Ramon Ewington (New Zealand)
Lobelia Cardinalis

Always tons of plants in these pots so it goes a lot further than you think. 6-7 of them were pretty big already as well. Filled in the gaps for a new tank and had some left over that went into another tank.

A
Alex (New Zealand)
Good plant

Good looking small bright green plant not a big spreader very easy to grow and keeps to its self wont dominate other plants or spread like a plage.