These 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 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 is certainly the most widely available of all Foaters, and the one that you can almost certainly be offered is 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 your pond can become covered, so only introduce this plant where the pond is sufficiently small so that you can take away excess growth 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 can be a good suggestion to overwinter a few of the fern in a jam jar filled with water and soil - reintroduce in April.
Eichornia (Water Hyacinth)
Eichornia crassipes is known as 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 say that the flowers fail to appear in a very cool summer season. Plant in June and take them inside before the very first frosts.
Hydrocharis (Frog-bit)
Hydrocharis morsus-renae is a good choice for a little pond or a minipond, growth is then restrained and a succession of small and short-lived white flowers appear for the summer. In autumn the foliage starts to die away and the plant survives in 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 whole 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 is in the catalogues, but do take care. You’ll see Lemna in stagnant ponds all over the place which has a bright green blanket covering the surface. The standard pattern is a tiny leaf having a root below together with a rapid rate of growth. Several types are often offered by your supplier and they will provide food for the fish as well as 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 think about is the much less invasive L. trisulca.
I hope people will find these small articles useful and informative, I do get pleasure from writing them so I hope you enjoy reading them just 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 might 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 several small articles. Happy reading to you all. I would certainly also like to take this chance to thank the 'gardener london ' company who have given me help and advise right through the numerous years that I’ve been gardening.
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