New and Native Water Plants
New and Native Water Plants By Greg Speichert

Plants are a vital part of any water garden, and they can be a profitable tie-in to water garden sales.

Water garden plants have undergone nothing short of a revolution in the last few years, with different varieties being introduced every year. This is good news because customers are even more keen to find unusual water plants than many other categories. Homeowners are likely to buy several different water plants rather than a lot of one kind of plant, making it critical to have a wide range of water plants.

Besides their interest in pond keeping, many customers are concerned about nature and the environment. They’re starting to plant natives in their gardens. You may be surprised to discover how many showy and highly ornamental water plants are actually native to the United States. While some are selected cultivars, others needed no selecting. They were great plants that needed to be brought into cultivation but were just missed at first because they were native and no one wanted to grow “swamp weeds.”

Winning Varieties

One of my favorite native water plants is water willow Justicia americana . Growing to about one and a half feet above the water line, it blooms for 4-6 weeks with delightful white or pink flowers that look like they have purple faces. Small, willow-like foliage forms a nice, full plant. Water willow is useful because it forms a low fence that helps deter geese. This is especially important for golf courses and large developments that don’t want their water features to be taken over by large waterfowl. Because it is compact and flowers so well, water willow is a great addition to the retail store, giving retail customers a new hardy flowering plant. Grows in full sun to part shade; hardy, Zones 4-11; height, 12-18 inches; spread, 12 inches; water depth, moist to 10 inches; tolerates running water.

Marsh Betony is another good addition to the water garden. It flowers for months with blossoms that range from fuschia to pale pink. It is an excellent substitute for the very invasive Loosestrife, which no one should sell to retail customers. Selections of Marsh Betony include ‘Stringy’, with thin leaves and oddly open flowers in pale lavender pink; ‘Hot Lips’, a deep pink with a burgundy flush to the stems; and ‘Palace Purple’, with deep, fuschia-purple flowers. Marsh Betony is an enthusiastic plant that tends to run, so it needs to be contained. It isn’t invasive, though, since it is easily outgrown by more aggressive plants. It grows well at pond’s edge or in a container water garden. Grows in sun to part shade; hardy, Zones 4-8; height, 6-24 inches; spread, running; water depth, moist to five inches.

Variegated water bamboo Dulichium arundinaceum ‘Tigress’ is one of the most exciting new plants. With bold white variegation, Tigress is an ideal plant for a homeowner with a shady pond. Because it will grow even in full shade, it provides color and sparkle in dark corners. It is a selection of an American native, easy to grow and not invasive. Like the all-green water bamboo, it grows best in water with a pH below 8. Grows in part to full shade; hardy, Zones 5-11; height, 12 inches; spread, running; water depth, moist to two inches.

Frog fruit Phyla lanceolata is a delightful little creeping plant. It is ideal for the container garden and the edge of the pond. Frog fruit flowers all summer with small buttons of pink blossom. It makes an excellent groundcover, as it tolerates being walked on and even being mowed. Another American native, its leaves turn burgundy in the fall. This is the ultimate low-maintenance water plant. Grows in sun to part shade; hardy, Zones 5-11; height, two inches; spread, trailing; water depth, moist to four inches.

Water leather fern Acrostichum danaeifolium is a giant tropical fern that makes a stunning accent plant for a large pond. Native to Florida, it grows well in full sun or full shade, reaching up to nine feet in height in just a few years. Its leathery foliage retains its best dark, olive-green color in part shade. Excellent as a specimen in the pond or in a large container on a shady patio, where it will display its tropical, almost prehistoric look. Grows in sun or shade; hardy, Zones 9-11; height, 1-6 feet; spread to four feet; water depth, moist to three inches.

Aquatic butterfly bush Decodon verticillatus is another native plant that is growing in popularity and with good reason. Its pink-purple, arching flower stalks reach up to two feet in length on plants that grow about six feet tall. It blooms for 4-6 weeks, starting in July, and has great red fall color. Easy to grow and not invasive, aquatic butterfly bush makes a great plant for the water gardener, not to mention it attracts tons of butterflies and a hummingbird or two. Grows in sun or part shade; hardy, Zones 3-9; height, 4-6 feet; spread, six feet; water depth, moist to three inches.

Greg Speichert

Greg Speichert manages aquatic plants at Crystal Palace Perennials, St. John, Ind. He can be reached by phone at (219) 374-9419 or E-mail at [email protected].