Plant profile
Brahmi
Bacopa monnieri
Also known as Water hyssop, Bacopa, Bacopa monnieri.
Brahmi is a low creeping native herb that roots wherever its fleshy stems touch wet soil. It forms a soft mat beside ponds, through wet beds and in shallow-water pots, and it grows best where the root zone stays consistently moist rather than cycling between wet and dry.
- Grows well in
- Tropical, Subtropical, Temperate
- Lifecycle
- Creeping perennial wetland herb
- Light
- Full sun, Part shade
- Mature size
- Usually 5–20 cm high, spreading indefinitely by rooting stems.
- Spacing
- About 15–30 cm apart for a quick groundcover, or plant a few rooted pieces around a wet container.
- Growth habit
- Prostrate succulent-stemmed herb that roots at nodes and forms spreading mats.
- Native range
- Widely native across tropical and subtropical regions
- Natural habitat
- Wet ground, marshes, stream edges and shallow-water habitats.
When to plant
Tropical
February–May, September–November
Subtropical
March–May, September–November
Temperate
September–November
Cool / mountain
September–November
Mediterranean
September–November
Plant or divide during warm active growth when new stems can root quickly.
Planting
Plant rooted pieces into consistently moist soil, the edge of a pond or a shallow-water container. Keep it where the water source is clean if you intend to harvest it.
Position and light
Full sun to part shade. Some shade helps in very hot districts if the root zone stays wet.
Soil
Wet fertile soil, mud or shallow aquatic conditions. Ordinary dry beds are unsuitable unless watered very regularly.
Watering
Keep continuously moist. Brahmi naturally grows around freshwater and brackish margins and can tolerate shallow inundation.
Feeding
Usually little is needed in fertile wet soil. Container plants can have a light feed if growth becomes pale.
Pruning
Trim spreading stems when the mat moves beyond its space. Cuttings root readily at the nodes.
Harvest
Pick young clean stems and leaves from an established patch grown in clean water.
Propagation
Divide rooted mats or take stem cuttings with several nodes. Seed is also possible.
Common problems
Drying out is the main problem. Dense mats can collect debris or algae in stagnant containers.
Worth knowing
Bacopa monnieri is native in parts of Australia, including Queensland and New South Wales. It is a genuine wetland plant rather than a dry-bed herb. A wide, shallow pot is also useful when you want to keep the root zone wet without letting the plant spread through a garden bed.
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