Grow Your Own Backyard Oasis with These 5 Water Plant Favorites

July 6, 2017 | By webadmin

Ponds and other water features transform an outdoor space by providing a focal point with relaxing sounds and movement. Since many of the plants in water ponds are heat loving tropicals, late spring and early summer is the time when the most varieties become available. Consider these beautiful, easy-care plants to bring your pond to life.

Plants we love best

One of the more popular selections, because of its long bloom time, is Pickerel Rush (Pontederia cordata), which flowers the entire summer and well into the fall, especially when plentiful fertilizer is provided. Growing roughly 2-3-feet with a clumping growth habit, this true aquatic plant can survive severe winter temperatures, yet return and multiply each year.

Purple Pickerel Rush

Lizard's tail (Saururus cernuus) is a low spreading native for shallow water and moist soils that will colonize large areas. Long cylindrical flower spikes, which give the plant its common name, appear in summer amongst heart shaped leaves. When crushed, leaves have a sassafras fragrance.

Water lilies: American White Water-lily (Nymphaea odorata) is the Texas native variety of the classic and most common pond plant that many of us imagine when we think of a water feature. Flowering from March through October, but only from early morning until around noon, the showy, fragrant blooms float on the water's surface, growing to almost 10 inches across.

There are also many hybrid water lilies available in a variety of colors.

If you have grown some of the basics and you're ready for a worthwhile challenge, you might try growing Mermaid Weed (Proserpinaca palustris). Young plants start out a vibrant green hue featuring serrated edges. With bright light exposure, the leaves develop a variety of gold and pinkish colors as well as a more bristle-like form, almost like small, delicate combs. Proper nutrients are also important to keep your specimens healthy and the colors bright. Low light conditions will cause leaf drop.

Don’t let them go hungry

You’ll need to feed your plants regularly, the specific amount depending on the plant and your growing conditions. Just ensure the formula you choose is designed for terrestrial plants, not aquatics.

A beautiful pond or water feature draws our attention to this moment and takes us away from the worries of our day. Each of these plant brings its own unique textures and shapes to create a sophisticated work of art in water. Water plants can be incorporated into larger waterscapes, large or small ponds, or they can be grown in smaller watertight containers on your patio or deck.

Let us know if you’d like to add more water, and water plants, to your outdoor living space.