By: Stephen Drommonsy
Submitted: 2010-10-04 06:43:38 | Word Count: 620
These are four of my favourite floating aquatic plants that I use for my pond. The roots are submerged with all the leaves and stems freely floating over the surface, the flowers, if there are any, above the surface. They are widely available from all good garden centres.
Azolla (Fairy Moss)
This really is the most generally available of all Foaters, plus the one that you'd almost certainly be offered is the Azolla caroliniana. It’s a small fern with fronds which measure about 1/2 in. across. The dense mats of pale green leaves spread quite rapidly if left unchecked the entire surface of the pond can become covered, so only introduce this plant where the pond is sufficiently small that you can remove excess growth by using a net. In the summer the fronds turn red and in the winter much of the plant is cut back by frost and ice. It is recommended to overwinter a few of the fern within a jam jar filled with water and soil - reintroduce in April.
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Eichornia (Water Hyacinth)
Eichornia crassipes is known as 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 mention the flowers fail to appear in a very cool summer season. Plant in June and take them inside before the initial frosts.
Hydrocharis (Frog-bit)
Hydrocharis morsus-renae is a sensible choice for a small pond or perhaps a minipond, growth is then restrained along with a succession of little and short-lived white flowers appear during the summer. In autumn the foliage begins to die off and so the plant survives at the bottom of the pond with the form of dormant buds. In early the summer time these rise to the surface and growth begins again. When Hydrocharis isn’t in flower it looks quite a lot like a Water Lily. The green kidney shaped leaves measure 1 - 2in. across. Overwinter some buds in a jam jar with water and soil- put 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 everywhere which has a bright green blanket covering the surface. The standard pattern is a small leaf with a root below with a rapid rate of growth. Several types can be offered by your supplier and they will provide food for the fish along with providing shade for the water surface. In addition you can find L.gibba(thick duckweed) and L.polyrhiza (greater duckweed). Avoid them like they were the plague, the only real one to consider will be the much less invasive L. trisulca.
I hope people will find these short articles useful and informative, I do like 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 always 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 might consider placing into your pond. There are actually eight in particular that I want to mention so I may have to separate them into a couple of small articles. Happy reading to you all. I would certainly also like to take this chance to thank the 'gardener london' company that have given me help and advise throughout the countless years that I’ve been gardening.
