Water Garden Success – It’s All About The Plants, Part II
In Part 1 of Water Garden Success – It’s All About The Plants, we discussed the value and function of submerged oxygenating plants. Now it’s time to talk about two other types of plants for your water garden – floating and marginal.
Read Part I of Water Garden Success
Floating Plants
Free-floating plants, although not absolutely necessary, can certainly add the finishing touch to a natural-looking water garden. These plants move with the breeze and produce an ever-changing appearance in the pond. Functionally, they help add oxygen to the water and produce varying casts of shadow that both you and the fish will appreciate.
Free-floating plants are incredibly easy to incorporate into your water garden. Simply drop them into the water and watch them lazily move with the breeze. A general rule of thumb for these water garden plants is one plant for every ten feet of surface area.
Some free-floating water garden plants you may want to consider are:
• Azolla caroliniana (Floating Moss) – A small floating fern housing blue-green algae in its leaves. • Eichhornia (Water Hyacinth) - Leaves are rounded and leathery, attached to spongy and stalks that can grow as much as three feet tall. Very showy lavender flowers.
• Hydrocharis morsus-range (Frog-bit) - Has leathery, heart-shaped leaves.
• Lemna gibbaand L.minor (Duck Weed) – One of the smallest flowering plants in the world. Usually seen in thick mats, covering the surface of the water.
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Marginal Plants
Marginal water plants are rooted in soil, but are capable of growing with "wet feet." That is, they can grow at the edge of a pond or with their roots actually in the water. If you want to incorporate marginal plants directly into your water garden, it is best to create a shelf for them in your pond design. You will find that marginal plants are decorative, provide shelter from the wind, and offer a bit of shade in summer’s heat.
Some great examples of marginal water plants are:
• Cattail - Traditional aquatic plant. Has long narrow leaves and produces brown catkins. May grow as tall as seven feet.
• Arrowhead - Produces white flowers with arrow-shaped leaves. Grows about two feet tall.
• Pickerel Rush - Produces spikes of purple, bluish or white flowers. Grows best in water about twelve inches deep.
Check Out Water Garden Products Right Now!
Source: MacArthur Water Gardens
Read Part I of Water Garden Success
Floating Plants
Free-floating plants, although not absolutely necessary, can certainly add the finishing touch to a natural-looking water garden. These plants move with the breeze and produce an ever-changing appearance in the pond. Functionally, they help add oxygen to the water and produce varying casts of shadow that both you and the fish will appreciate.
Free-floating plants are incredibly easy to incorporate into your water garden. Simply drop them into the water and watch them lazily move with the breeze. A general rule of thumb for these water garden plants is one plant for every ten feet of surface area.
Some free-floating water garden plants you may want to consider are:
• Azolla caroliniana (Floating Moss) – A small floating fern housing blue-green algae in its leaves. • Eichhornia (Water Hyacinth) - Leaves are rounded and leathery, attached to spongy and stalks that can grow as much as three feet tall. Very showy lavender flowers.
• Hydrocharis morsus-range (Frog-bit) - Has leathery, heart-shaped leaves.
• Lemna gibbaand L.minor (Duck Weed) – One of the smallest flowering plants in the world. Usually seen in thick mats, covering the surface of the water.
Check Out Water Garden Products Right Now!
Marginal Plants
Marginal water plants are rooted in soil, but are capable of growing with "wet feet." That is, they can grow at the edge of a pond or with their roots actually in the water. If you want to incorporate marginal plants directly into your water garden, it is best to create a shelf for them in your pond design. You will find that marginal plants are decorative, provide shelter from the wind, and offer a bit of shade in summer’s heat.
Some great examples of marginal water plants are:
• Cattail - Traditional aquatic plant. Has long narrow leaves and produces brown catkins. May grow as tall as seven feet.
• Arrowhead - Produces white flowers with arrow-shaped leaves. Grows about two feet tall.
• Pickerel Rush - Produces spikes of purple, bluish or white flowers. Grows best in water about twelve inches deep.
Check Out Water Garden Products Right Now!
Source: MacArthur Water Gardens
posted by Slater at 7:08 AM
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