By: Stephen Drommonsy
Submitted: 2010-10-04 06:30:24 | Word Count: 626
Here are a few of my favorite floating aquatic plants that I use for my pond. The roots are submerged with the leaves and stems freely floating about the surface, the flowers, if there are any, above the surface. They're widely available from all good garden centres.
Azolla (Fairy Moss)
This is certainly the most widely available of all Foaters, plus the one that you can almost certainly be offered will be the Azolla caroliniana. It’s a tiny fern with fronds which measure about 1/2 in. across. The dense mats of pale green leaves spread quite rapidly and if left unchecked the whole surface of the pond can become covered, so only introduce this plant where the pond is sufficiently small for you to take out excess growth using a net. In the summer the fronds turn red whilst in the winter much of the plant is cut back by frost and ice. It's always a good suggestion to overwinter some of the fern in a jam jar filled up with water and soil - reintroduce in April.
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Eichornia (Water Hyacinth)
Eichornia crassipes is really a menace to waterways in frost-free countries but it can be a vibrant Floater for outdoor ponds in Britain between June and September. The leaves are dark and shiny with swollen stems. The late summer flowers are extremely attractive- strong spikes bear Orchid-like blooms of blue, lavender and yellow. However, the catalogues sometimes forget to say that the flowers fail to appear in a very cool summer season. Plant in June and take them indoors before the very first frosts.
Hydrocharis (Frog-bit)
Hydrocharis morsus-renae is a good selection for a tiny pond or a minipond, growth is then restrained along with a succession of tiny and short-lived white flowers appear for the summer. In autumn the foliage begins to die away and the plant survives at the bottom of the pond in the form of dormant buds. In early the summer season these rise to the surface and growth begins again. When Hydrocharis is not in flower it looks a good deal like a Water Lily. The green kidney formed leaves measure 1 - 2in. across. Overwinter some buds inside a jam jar with water and soil- put back into the pond in April.
Lemna (Duckweed)
Duckweed can be found in the catalogues, but do take care. You can see Lemna in stagnant ponds all over the place which has a bright green blanket covering the surface. The standard pattern is a small leaf having a root below with a rapid rate of growth. Several types may be offered by your supplier and they will provide food for the fish as well as providing shade for the water surface. Additionally you can find L.gibba(thick duckweed) and L.polyrhiza (greater duckweed). Avoid them like they were the plague, really the only one to think about will be the much less invasive L. trisulca.
I hope people will find these short articles useful and informative, I do enjoy writing them so I hope you enjoy reading them nearly as much. Maybe I should add some pictures to go with the descriptions. I am open to any suggestions to make my articles more interesting.
Author Resource:-
For my next article I will be writing about a further four floating plants that you may consider placing into your pond. There are eight in particular that I would like to mention so I might have to separate them into several small articles. Happy reading to you all. I would also like to take this chance to thank the 'gardener london' company that have given me help and advise during the numerous years that I’ve been gardening.
