Here are some of my favourite floating aquatic plants that I take advantage of for my pond. The roots are submerged with all the leaves and stems freely floating on the surface, the flowers, if there is any, above the surface. They are widely available from all good garden centres. Azolla (Fairy Moss) This is the most widely available of all Foaters, plus the one that you might 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 your pond can become covered, so only introduce this plant where the pond is small enough that you can take out excess growth using a net. In the summertime the fronds turn red and in the winter much of the plant is reduced by frost and ice. It's always a good suggestion to overwinter a few of the fern in any jam jar full of water and soil - reintroduce in April. Eichornia (Water Hyacinth) Eichornia crassipes is really a menace to waterways in frost-free countries but it is 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 how the flowers fail to appear in a 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 a minipond, growth is then restrained along with a succession of tiny and short-lived white flowers appear in the summer. In autumn the foliage starts 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 towards the surface and growth begins again. When Hydrocharis isn’t in flower it looks quite a lot like a Water Lily. The green kidney formed leaves measure 1 - 2in. across. Overwinter some buds in 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 will see Lemna in stagnant ponds everywhere with a bright green blanket covering the surface. The standard pattern is a little leaf with 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. In addition there are 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 small articles useful and instructive, I do get pleasure from 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.
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These are a few of my favourite floating aquatic plants that I take advantage of for my pond. The roots are submerged aided by the leaves and stems freely floating over the surface, the flowers, if you find any, above the surface.
For my next article I’ll be writing about a further four floating plants that you would possibly think about placing into your pond. You can get eight specifically that I would like to mention so I may have to split them into a couple of small articles. Happy reading to you all. I would certainly also like to take this opportunity to thank the 'gardener london' company who have given me help and advise all through the many years that I’ve been gardening.
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