These are four of my favourite floating aquatic plants that I take advantage of for my pond. The roots are submerged with the leaves and stems freely floating about 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 will almost certainly be offered will be the Azolla caroliniana. It is a little 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 the pond can become covered, so only introduce this plant where the pond is sufficiently small so that you can take out excess growth using a net. In the summertime the fronds turn red whilst in the winter much of the plant is cut back by frost and ice. It is recommended to overwinter some of the fern in a 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 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 how the flowers fail to appear in a cool summer season. Plant in June and take them indoors before the initial frosts.
Hydrocharis (Frog-bit)
Hydrocharis morsus-renae is a sensible choice for a tiny pond or a minipond, growth is then restrained and a succession of small and short-lived white flowers appear in the summer. In autumn the foliage starts to die away and the plant survives on the bottom of the pond in the form of dormant buds. In early the summer season these rise towards the surface and growth begins again. When Hydrocharis is not in flower it looks a good deal like a Water Lily. The green kidney shaped leaves measure 1 - 2in. across. Overwinter some buds in any jam jar with water and soil- put back to the pond in April.
Lemna (Duckweed)
Duckweed can be found in the catalogues, but do take care. You’ll see Lemna in stagnant ponds all over the place that has a bright green blanket covering the surface. The standard pattern is a small leaf that has a root below with a rapid rate of growth. Several types can be offered by your supplier and they do provide food for the fish in addition to being 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, really the only one to think about will be the much less invasive L. trisulca.
I hope people will find these short articles useful and enlightening, 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 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 think about placing into your pond. There are actually eight in particular that I would like to mention so I may have to separate them into several small articles. Happy reading to you all. I would certainly also like to take this opportunity to thank the 'gardener london ' company that have given me help and advise during the numerous years that I’ve been gardening.
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