Want a background plant with markings rather than plain green? Vallisneria spiralis 'Leopard' carries dark spotting scattered along its ribbon leaves — the same easy, fast-spreading Val, with a pattern almost nothing else in a planted tank offers.
What You’ll Receive
- Bare-root plants | Approx. 2–3 loose plants
- Bunched plants | Approx. 2–3 plants bundled with foam and lead weight
- Potted plants | Approx. 2–3 plants in a net pot with rock wool
Plant Profile
- Common name — Leopard Vallisneria, also known as Spotted Val
- Scientific name — Vallisneria spiralis 'Leopard'
- Origin — Cultivated form; the species is widespread
- Placement — Background, or back and side corners
- Shipped size — Approx. 2-3 plants, roughly 5-10 in
- Mature height — 10–20 in
- Suits — 20 gallons and up
- Growth rate — Fast
Care
- Difficulty — Beginner
- Light — Low to medium. The spotting darkens under stronger light
- CO₂ — Not required
- Water — 68–82°F · pH 6.5–8.0. Tolerates hard, alkaline water well
- Substrate — Required. Root feeder — nutrient substrate or root tabs
- Growth habit — Fully aquatic. Cannot be grown emersed
- Propagation — Substrate runners
Grower’s Notes
- The spots need light to show. In a dim tank Leopard Val grows perfectly well but reads as ordinary green Vallisneria. If you bought it for the pattern, put it where light reaches.
- Plant the crown at the substrate line, never below it. A buried crown rots — the usual reason a new Val fails in the first fortnight.
- Feed at the roots. In inert gravel it survives but barely spreads; root tabs are what turn three plants into a stand.
- Don't trim the tops to control height. Cut Val leaves brown at the cut and stay that way — remove whole leaves at the base instead.
- Runners travel fast. Pull unwanted plantlets by hand rather than cutting, and expect to thin it every month or two once established.
Want to go deeper? Read our complete Vallisneria Care Guide.
Notes
- Pictures are sample representations. Actual plants may vary slightly in color and size depending on growing conditions. We do not guarantee all aquatic plants will be pest-free, pesticide-free, or grown 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 this aquatic plant for arriving healthy with minimal melting. Reviews highlighted fast growth, runners spreading quickly, and beautiful coloration. One customer noted sensitivity to leaf damage causing melting, especially in low-light conditions. Most reported thriving plants with proper substrate and lighting.
- Really rich deep olive color. Incredibly healthy - no sliminess or translucent foliage!
- Sending out tons of runners and the leaf growth is noticeable daily.
- Very happy. Surprised at how fast it took off, already spread runners out.
C
Nice addition to 20g long planted aquarium. Plants arrived quickly and were pretty healthy. Trimmed the brown and yellow decaying ends after several days of planting. Tank is soil substrate and micro dose one pump/day of thrive-s. Lots of new rich green growth from this one after one week, the other one is slower to develop, but doing okay.
C
Plant was very nice and healthy-looking when it came in, I was excited. However, I bought it as a complete plant newbie, and thought it could thrive planted bare-root in pure eco-complete (very coarse) substrate, in a relatively low-light tank (duckweed cover & cheap light), in hard water, pH 8, around 70-75F (unheated), and understocked with a few root tab pieces and occasional water column ferts added. The Val started off by melting back from the tips of the leaves, which arrived cut :( See photo 3. It would be nice if APF could not cut the Val leaves, as they should know this causes them to melt! I quickly learned that Val is **very** sensitive about damage to its leaves, so warning: if any leaf gets damaged enough (e.g. from rubbing against a filter intake or some wood, etc.) that entire leaf might melt all the way back!!! HOWEVER, despite my relatively nutrient-poor substrate & suboptimal light levels, and the melting sensitivity, the plant has steadily continued improving over the last few months since I began to add more root tabs, moved things around to give it more light and space to grow without rubbing its leaves on things. So FINALLY the plant is thriving, despite growing a lot more slowly than it probably would with more nutrient-rich substrate and more light. A smaller baby plant I separated out at the beginning has simply melted off & not grown back still beyond tiny, 1 inch leaves. All the leaves shown in 2nd photo are from today, all new growth from since I got the Vals. Despite my challenges, I'm giving 4 stars because APF did say nutrient-rich substrate is "required" and I might have had much better luck if I had taken that to heart earlier, giving regular root tabs, instead of trying to supplement water-column (Val doesn't respond to this, seems to feed from roots ONLY). Also, I've had great luck from APF with other plants, and I actually plan to order more of this exact plant from APF now that I've finally troubleshot it successfully! But don't expect any red from this plant without high light ... all you will see is a slightly speckled pattern throughout the leaf! See photo 1 for detail. I don't care and still think it's beautiful that way!
M
This val has a lot of interesting colors and patterns going on, and a very nice form. The plant came in great shape, and the perfect size for a 10 inch tall tank. My ghost shrimp love it.
G
Usps took seven days too deliver ,but plant was well wrapped and survived the trip.plant is as advertised and after acclimating will be a beautiful addition to the tank.
J
It arrived looking really healthy, and took to my tank right away.
No co2, water column ferts only, and planted in pure sand.
I plan to slowly replace my corkscrew val with this as it grows in and starts sending out runners, its just so pretty.
B
The plants were very green and fresh. Ive ordered from APF many times always top notch. Quick delivery too
O
Plant came in a bundle in sealed bag. Only list a couple leaves so was pretty satisfied with this plant. Ended up separating the bundle to spread it.
J
All of the plants I purchased are thriving and had very little to no “melting”
T
Finally the post office delievered ON TIME! This batch held up well and are quite lovely. Looking forward to seeing them fill out and glow tall.
C
I bought two packs of the bare root plants for a 65g pleco tank and was really surprised how beautiful these are even at such a young stage. The plants I received were about 6-10" tall and a really rich deep olive color. Each pack had about 4 plants and were incredibly healthy - no sliminess or translucent foliage at all! I cannot wait for these to take off in my tank!
c
Really happy with the shipment, everything arrived looking great!
D
Over all very happy. I was a little surprised at how fast it took off in my new tank it's already spread runners out
S
The leopard Val that arrived is super healthy as ALL plants that APF sells to us are, I mean seriously the best of the best quality every time. My leopard Val does not have the red coloration yet but I saw it was just cut to fit in the box, and does have the leopard print on its leaves. I can only assume the red will come as the plant regrows. I got 3-4 plants per order of the loose bare root plant options which IMO is phenomenal. The LFS charge 5-15 dollars a PIECE for Val let alone a rarer kind. Very very happy with that and there were about 8 leaves per plant. You really can’t ask for more, not sure how they would fit 2 foot Val into a 6 inch box with other plants either so completely OK with the no red yet, it will come.
D
After shipping, these guys bounced back and are thriving. I'm getting a lot of new growth that's bright green and I'm still trying to bring out some of those deeper reds, but I love the slender leaves. I planted these under my larger Valisernia, and they look great. They're shooting new growth everywhere and looking great. Highly recommend this!
A
The plant arrived healthy and is doing great a little over a month later. It’s sending out tons of runners and the leaf growth is noticeable daily. The shrimp love hiding in it, I constantly find molts.
O
The order of Leopard is plenty and all mine came in healthy no complains!!
M
This plant arrived in very good shape and was very well packaged. It's been a few weeks and it has grown a couple of inches already and has also sent up a new off-shoot! Thank you very much!
R
My betta loves it a lot. Definitely will buy again!
P
Love this plant It's a great size, healthy and very nice looking. Will definitely buy again from this company.
M
I have ordered plants on six different occasions which amounted to around 70 different plants and I could not be any happier. I had one plant come in that was dead and was issued a credit immediately no questions asked. With this company you can count on one thing they have integrity and should be the industry standard, great job keep up the good work, a loyal customer.
G
The plant arrived in good condition. It's too early to give an honest review though. Please check back in a few weeks.
S
The most beautiful plant in my tank , packing was great , also took right off
K
This is my favorite grass plant. Received healthy, nice-size plants. Even without C02 you can get the beautiful red color, as long as you have high light. Love!
M
Plants arrived healthy. Couldn't be happier.
M
All of the plants arrive healthy and in very good condition there was one exception and I immediately got a replacement two days later very good customer service beautiful plants
L
How tall does this one generally get? I have a 10 gallon tank.
Like all Vallisneria, it can grow very tall. No matter how tall your aquarium is. It always grow to the top of your aquarium then it will flow with the water current.
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