Hygrophila Corymbosa Tissue Culture (Aquascaping Essentials)

Hygrophila corymbosa  better known as Temple Plant or Giant Hygro is a classic broad-leaved stem plant that brings instant, jungle-like fullness to the back of a planted tank. Its large, lance-shaped leaves sit a soft light green on top with a warm bronze-red flush underneath when grown under brighter light. Vigorous, adaptable and famously hard to kill, it's one of the best stem plants for a first aquascape and a dependable green backdrop for seasoned hobbyists.

Why aquascapers reach for it

• Fast, reliable growth that fills vertical space and softens hardscape quickly
• Broad, lush foliage for a natural jungle or Dutch-style look
• A workhorse for new tanks — soaks up excess nutrients and helps starve out algae while your scape establishes
• Forgiving across a wide range of light, CO₂ and water conditions

Lab-grown and 100% pest-free

Every cup is propagated in vitro under sterile laboratory conditions, so your plants arrive completely free of snails, nuisance algae, parasites and pesticide residue. That makes them genuinely safe to add to shrimp tanks and other invertebrate setups no quarantine and no hitchhikers. You also get multiple healthy plantlets per cup, ready to be split and spread across your layout.

Care at a glance

• Difficulty: Easy
• Placement: Background
• Lighting: Low to High
• CO₂: Not required (beneficial)
• Growth rate: Fast
• Max height: 25–45 cm
• Temperature: 22–28 °C
• pH: 6.0–7.5
• Water hardness: Soft to hard
• Propagation: Stem cuttings

In your aquascape

Plant it along the background where it has headroom to grow tall. Set the stems in small groups and let them bush together into a dense green wall, or keep it trimmed lower as a midground filler. It pairs beautifully with red stem plants and fine-leaved species, which set off its broad leaf shape.

Planting & acclimation

1. Lift the plant from the cup and gently rinse the clear nutrient gel from the base, gel left on the roots can cloud the tank or invite mould.
2. Divide into small portions of 3–5 stems.
3. Using planting tweezers, insert each portion into the substrate, spacing them a few centimetres apart to leave room to fill in.
4. As stems reach the surface, trim the tops and replant the cuttings to thicken the stand.

Pro tip: Hygrophila corymbosa is a hungry plant. Root tabs or a nutrient-rich substrate keep it lush, and a complete liquid fertiliser prevents the small pinholes in older leaves.