Here are four of my favourite floating aquatic plants that I use for my pond. The roots are submerged aided by the leaves and stems freely floating on the surface, the flowers, if you find any, above the surface. They are widely available from all good garden centres.
Azolla (Fairy Moss)
This is certainly the most generally available of all Foaters, and the one that you'd almost certainly be offered will be the Azolla caroliniana. It is 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 whole surface of your pond can become covered, so only introduce this plant where the pond is sufficiently small so that you can do away with excess growth using a net. In the summertime the fronds turn red and in the winter much of the plant is cut back by frost and ice. It can be recommended to overwinter some of the fern in any jam jar filled up 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 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 say how 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 good selection for a small pond or even a minipond, growth is then restrained along with a succession of tiny and short-lived white flowers appear during the summer. In autumn the foliage starts to die off and so the plant survives on the bottom of the pond in 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 a good deal like a Water Lily. The green kidney formed leaves measure 1 - 2in. across. Overwinter some buds in any 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 can see Lemna in stagnant ponds all over the place which has a bright green blanket covering the surface. The usual pattern is a small leaf having a root below with a rapid rate of growth. Several types can be offered by your supplier and they do provide food for your fish along with providing shade for the water surface. Additionally there are L.gibba(thick duckweed) and L.polyrhiza (greater duckweed). Avoid them like they were the plague, the only one to think about is 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 may consider placing into your pond. There are actually eight in particular that I want to mention so I may have to separate them into several small articles. Happy reading to you all. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the 'gardener london ' company who have given me help and advise throughout the countless years that I have been gardening.
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