By: Mark Tinkler
Submitted: 2010-10-01 09:04:01 | Word Count: 563
Water Hawthorn (Aponogenton)
Aponogeton distachyos is amongst one of the very best Deep-water aquatics, it's always a simple plant to grow with leaves which tend to be evergreen and flowers that appear for months on end. These curious flowers borne on spikes which float around the surface, each flower has waxy white petals and black anthers. The fragrance is strong, variously described as 'vanilla and 'Hawthorn-like'. The oblong leaves are often blotched with brown and the eventual spread is about 2 ft. Unlike a Water Lily it will flourish in partial shade and moving water, but be sure that it’s deep enough for those tubers that they are below the ice in winter.
Pond Lily (Nuphar)
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It is a relative from the Water Lily family nonetheless it is not as attractive as it's illustrious cousin. The flowers are small, rather plain and are carried on thick stems above the water. You will discover, however, one or two distinct advantages, light ans shade is not a problem and neither is moving water. For the average sized pond choose 'Nuphar minima' (N. pumila). The yellow flowers are about 1inch across and the under-water foliage is translucent. Unfortunately, the varieties on offer can be the enormous ones including N. lutea (Brandy Bottle) with its 3 inch bottle shaped yellow flowers which smell strongly of alcohol. This really is only ideal for a sizable pond or lake.
Water Fringe (Nymphoides)
There is just one basic species - Nymphoides peltata, commonly often called Floating Heart. In the catalogues you would possibly locate it listed as Villarsia bennettii or Limnanthermum nymphoides. The miniature Water Lily-like leaves measure about 2 inches across and tend to be crinkly edged and blotched or spotted with brown. The 11/2 inch yellow flower is more sort of a Buttercup than a Water Lily, and also the petal edges are fringed. The blooms are borne in small clusters. This is a useful plant for giving rapid surface cover before Water Lilies become too established, but it might get out of hand.
Golden Club (Orontium)
Orontium aquaticum is usually a trouble free and non-invasive plant with only one fussy requrement, it does need plenty of soil, so be sure to plant it in a deep Water Lily basket. It can grow in shallow water, but it needs a planting depth of no less than 1ft. if you'd like the leaves to float on the water surface rather than standing erect out of the water. The foliage is attractive with blue-green above and silvery below. The superlative feature of this member from the Arum family is the bizarre flower head. This stands above the water like a pure white pencil which includes a tip which is coloured gold by a mass of tiny yellow florets. This is one aquatic plant that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone.
Author Resource:-
For my next article I will be writing about the floating plants that you may think about placing into your pond. There are eight in particular that I want to mention so I might have to separate them into a couple of small articles. Happy reading to you all. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the 'gardener london' company that have given me help and advise throughout the many years that I’ve been gardening.
