subject: Deep Water Plants For Your Fishpond Water Garden [print this page] One of the most satisfying jobs that I have ever had the enjoyment to work on in my garden was making a water garden or pond for my very own enjoyment. Nothing beats sitting by a pond on an evening with a glass of wine. Just viewing the fish happily swimming around with the knowledge that you have created their environment on their behalf, it provides a fantastic feeling of satisfaction.
Aponogeton distachyos is among one of the very best Deep-water aquatics, currently its an easy plant to grow with leaves which can be evergreen and flowers that appear for months on end.
Golden Club (Orontium)
Orontium aquaticum is usually a trouble free and non-invasive plant with only one fussy requrement, it does will want a great deal of soil, so remember to plant it inside of a deep Water Lily basket. It will grow in shallow water, but it reqiures a planting depth of not less than 1ft. if you'd like the leaves to float over the water surface instead of standing erect out of the water. The foliage is attractive with blue-green above and silvery below. The greatest feature of this member from the Arum family is the unusual flower head. This stands above the water like a pure white pencil that has a tip that is coloured gold by a mass of tiny yellow florets. This is one aquatic plant that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone.
Water Hawthorn (Aponogenton)
Aponogeton distachyos is amongst one of the most effective Deep-water aquatics, undoubtedly an easy plant to grow with leaves which are often evergreen and flowers that appear for months on end. These curious flowers borne on spikes which float at the surface, each flower has waxy white petals and black anthers. The fragrance is powerful, variously described as 'vanilla and 'Hawthorn-like'. The oblong leaves can be blotched with brown and also the eventual spread is about 2 ft. Unlike a Water Lily it can flourish in partial shade and moving water, but be sure that it is deep enough for those tubers that they are below the ice in winter.
Pond Lily (Nuphar)
This is certainly a relative from the Water Lily family nonetheless it seriously 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 find, however, a couple of distinct advantages, light ans shade is no problem and neither is moving water. For an average sized pond choose 'Nuphar minima' (N. pumila). The yellow flowers are about 1inch across and the under-water foliage is translucent. Unfortunately, the types on offer are often the enormous ones like N. lutea (Brandy Bottle) with its 3 inch bottle shaped yellow flowers which smell strongly of alcohol. This is only ideal for a sizable pond or lake.
Water Fringe (Nymphoides)
There is simply one basic species - Nymphoides peltata, commonly referred to as Floating Heart. Inside the catalogues you may find it listed as Villarsia bennettii or Limnanthermum nymphoides. The miniature Water Lily-like leaves measure about 2 inches across and are sometimes 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 the petal edges are fringed. The blooms are borne in small clusters. This is certainly a useful plant for giving rapid surface cover before Water Lilies become too established, however it might get out of hand.
