A bulb that turns into a centerpiece. Nymphaea stellata / rubra, the Dwarf Water Lily, pushes broad deep-red leaves from a tuber within eight to ten days of planting — and how you trim it decides whether you get a submerged red bush or floating lily pads on the surface.
What You'll Receive
- Bulb Only Without Leaf – For experienced aquarists seeking to sprout naturally.
- Sprouted Bulb With Leaf – For faster results and an immediate visual impact.
Simply rinse the bulb in clean water and place it in your tank or pond. Growth should appear within 8–10 days.
Plant Profile
- Common name — Dwarf Water Lily
- Scientific name — Nymphaea stellata / rubra
- Also known as — Nymphaea lotus 'Red'
- Plant type — Bulb / tuber
- Placement — Centerpiece, rooted in substrate
- Mature height — 6–12 in submerged; leaves will reach the surface if left untrimmed
- Growth rate — Fast
Care
- Difficulty — Beginner
- Light — High. Light intensity is what sets how red the leaves go
- CO₂ — Not required
- Water — 72–82°F · pH 6.0–7.5
- Substrate — Required. Root feeder — nutrient substrate or root tabs
- Growth habit — True aquatic. Does not grow emersed
- Propagation — Rhizome division; the tuber produces daughter bulbs
Grower's Notes
- Trimming decides the plant you get. Cut every leaf that reaches for the surface and it stays a compact red bush. Let them run and you get floating pads — and the shade under them cuts algae and gives fish cover. Both are correct; pick one deliberately.
- Press the bulb halfway into the substrate. Fully buried, it rots.
- It feeds at the roots and feeds heavily. Root tabs under the bulb are the difference between a slow sulk and 8–10 day growth.
- A resting phase is normal. If it stalls, ease off the light and let it recover rather than dosing harder.
- Not the same as our Red Tiger Lotus, which carries dark tiger mottling on the leaves. This one is plain deep red.
Want to go deeper? Read our complete Nymphaea (Water Lily) Care Guide.
Notes
- While our bulbs are fresh and carefully selected for high viability, we do not guarantee that every bulb will grow, as successful sprouting depends on individual aquarium conditions. Choose the Sprouted Bulb With Leaf if you prefer a guaranteed start.
- Pictures shown are sample representations. Unless stated, we do not guarantee whether plants will grow submerged or emersed.
- Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.
At a glance
- Free shipping on orders of $150 or more (after discounts) within the contiguous United States, by USPS.
- Free thermal protection is included with every shipment, all year round.
- Processing: most orders leave us within 1 to 2 business days. Tracking is emailed when your order ships.
- USPS (2 to 5 business days) ships Monday through Saturday.
- UPS 2nd Day Air® ships Monday through Wednesday. Order by Tuesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time for same-week delivery.
- UPS Next Day Air® ships Monday through Thursday. Order by Wednesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time for same-week delivery.
- Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and military addresses ship by USPS at a flat rate shown at checkout.
- Weather holds: during extreme heat or cold we may hold live orders until it's safe to ship.
- We ship within the United States only.
Please bring live plants indoors and unpack them the day they arrive. Every live order is covered by our 24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee.
The complete rules, including lost packages and address issues, are in our Shipping Policy. If anything conflicts, that policy applies.
Every live order is backed by our 24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee. If a plant arrives dead, we'll make it right.
How it works
- Tell us within 24 hours of the delivery time on your tracking.
- Send photos of the affected items in their original, unopened packaging, plus a photo of the shipping label, to hello@aquariumplantsfactory.com with your order number.
- We'll make it right with a replacement, store credit or refund for the affected item.
Good to know
- Some melting or yellowing as plants adjust from greenhouse to aquarium life is normal. They regrow from healthy roots and rhizomes.
- Please bring your package indoors and unpack it the day it arrives.
- Free promotional items and shipping charges are not covered.
The complete rules, including what's covered and what voids the guarantee, are in our Returns, Refunds & Live Arrival Guarantee. If anything conflicts, that policy applies.
Please review your state's regulations on restricted plants, as we are committed to not shipping plants that are restricted in your area. Do not release any plants into the wild or waterways, as this can harm local ecosystems by introducing invasive species.
Your cooperation in protecting the environment is appreciated. For continuously updated information, refer to the USDA State Noxious Weed list here.
Thank you for your responsible commitment to environmental preservation.
Customers praised the bulbs for fast sprouting, often within 2 days, and rapid growth with "beautiful color." Most bulbs arrived healthy and developed multiple leaves quickly. However, some shoppers reported issues with rot, small bulb size, or bulbs failing to sprout. A few received unsprouted bulbs when expecting pre-sprouted ones. Overall positive feedback on growth rate and appearance, though occasional quality concerns.
- All the bulbs sprouted after just a day or two. Excellent sized bulbs with multiple sprouts.
- In less than a week it has already sprouted multiple leaves. I'm having so much fun watching it grow!
- The color is so pretty. It grows super fast.
P
All my plants looked good becides my Hygrophila Pinnatifida, it came in all mushy and it has been in my tank and the plant tissues are all gone and it’s all see though. I believe it is dead sadly.
E
I have only had this in my tank for barely two weeks and it has really taken off! The bulb I received had just a few small leaves on it and it has already developed several new leaves. Very happy with this purchase!
A
Ordered dwarf lily with leafs. bulb came with 2 plants attached in good shape
K
I purchased 3 of these and so far they have not disappointed. In fact, they have all taken off so well.
L
The color is so pretty. It grows supper fast. Ive had it since sept 26th.
M
Purchased 2 of these non-sprouted. They were more like 3 bulbs each fused together. Within 2 days of being half buried in substrate they started sprouting multiple places. Within 10 days they now have full blown leaves directly under HOB filter.
2/21/24: My bulb arrived at the end of January '24. No rot, with the beginning of leaves peeking out. I placed it in my betta's little tank. Nothing much happened for a while, though, so I moved it into my plant-test-tank, which has more steady light. It has now been a month, and its growing better, though not very fast. It still looks healthy, so the bulb itself is fine, it is ME that's the problem! :-)
7/1/24: My bulb has now been in water for about 5 months. It started growing veeeery slowly, but THEN it got so large I had to take it out of it's tank!! It became a real nice, lush plant! It is a real shame that I simply don't have tank space for it... for now, it is in a spare plastic tank until I decide what to do with it! So, BE PATIENT, and it WILL grow!
7/2025: The original AND offspring plants are still alive in different tanks. Harder to kill than I originally thought!!
K
3/3 bulbs had already sprouted during shipping. They arrived with little leaves and roots.
I have stocked 4 tanks with plants all from aquarium plants factory. I’m always a happy returning customer.
M
Received the plant on Nov. 4th, 2022. The plant had three sprouts on the bulb.
The attached picture shows the plant on Dec. 3rd, 2022.
A
I received put it into tank after letting it soak overnight from water in tank.
It still floats on top of water so i snugged small corner of plant under wood and hasn't done anything so far. 3days still no signs of it being a plant...?
Anita O'Connor
B
None of them had sprouts when I first got them. But after 2 days 3 of them started growing some fast. Then two more took off. It's been 2 weeks and 5 of them are looking amazing still waiting for the 6th to take off. 5 out of the 6 are doing great. Maybe the 6th was a dud but for the price you can't beat it!
C
My bulb arrived with no shoots or sprouts on it, but I figured what the heck. Rinsed it off and planted it about halfway into the gravel with the side I felt was most likely "up". The next day I had not one, not two, but THREE small little sprouts coming out of the bulb. Now, on day 5, there are roughly a dozen sprouts with several showing signs of forming leaves. Super happy with my bulb and I can't wait until it grows more!
P
Very happy that after only a couple of days my bulb is bowing growth. My first bulb from another seller never sprouted after over three weeks so I gave up. Never had a bad plant from APF.
S
My package arrived safely and well packed. Thank you for email updates and follow up. There were no shoots on my bulbs. In less than a week, I notice these new shoots. I can't wait for the first true leaf.
a
awesome fast shipping both of my bulbs are growing within 2 days i split them in half nowi have 4 my free bulb was rotting had to discard will buy again
D
I apologize for the foggy picture. My tank is still cycling but this plant grows so fast! When it arrived, I could just barely see 3 tiny little sprouts. This pic is 3 days later, there are at least 10 sprouts that I can see from just the front! The biggest one is already about 3/4 in. I debated getting this because I thought the big bulb was ugly but I put it behind a piece of wood with Anubias nana on it and I'm really excited to watch this grow! All the plants in my order were healthy and beautiful, I will definitely be coming back to APF for future orders!
N
Received my items well packaged, and in a timely manner. I'm taking a star off only because the description says you'll get a bulb with sprouts growing. Two of the three I received did not have these, and I'll have to keep an eye on them to make sure I planted them the correct direction, the one that did have a single sprout it was barely visible nothing like the picture. But all in all its a great price, and purchase. I'm not holding any ill feelings because of it..I will still continue to buy my plants from here.
A
All the bulbs sprouted after just a day or two. Excellent sized bulbs with multiple sprouts.
R
I ordered 3 bulbs but they came with no planting instructions. How do you know which side is "up" if they have no sprouts? Do you bury them in the substrate or just drop them in the tank? I buried mine just below the surface of my substrate but it has been 4 days now with no sign of life.
For water lily bulbs/tubers, look for the growing point (the pointed or slightly rougher end, sometimes with a tiny visible bud) - that end goes up, with the flatter/rounder root end down. Planting just below the substrate surface, like you did, is correct - burying too deep can definitely slow or prevent sprouting. Four days isn't long though; these bulbs can take a couple of weeks to show visible growth depending on water temperature (warmer helps speed things up), so it's worth giving it more time before assuming there's an issue.
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