Water Gardening: Planning to start my FIRST ever Water Garden...., 1 by BogweedBuck

BogweedBuck wrote:
Define "WAY TOO MANY" ... lol

I have a few areas in the backyard that are a baby-step up from a bog. Sadly, I thought I had those areas taken care of only to watch several handsome specimens fall prey to various wet foot maladies. I just exhumed about 8 plants last night only to find standing water about 6 inches or so below the surface ... and it hasn't rained here in 6 days. :o

Sooooo .... anything attractive that would not wilt (and rot) under such conditions would certainly pique my interest!

What I have to offer (special, for you today):

- Lizard tail. I have one small group of about 8 stalks that is fully rooted, OR, I could hook you up with a pretty hefty population of cuttings (no less than a few dozen "stalks") from some plants that have already flowered and need to be "shortened."

- Parrot's Feather. Only available in groups of a dozen or more! LOL This stuff REALLY can sprawl when it's happy. I have one that literally looks like it's growing about a foot or more a week. (bear in mind I have a really high biological load and full sun on this pond, so your results may vary) It's my wife's current pond favorite, but I am sure she wouldn't mind some serious thinning out (besides, it'll look a lot tidier afterwards)

- Water Hyacinth. Also only available by the dozen! LOL I am at the stage of discarding about a dozen or more of these every week. By the end of last summer I was tossing several handfulls of this stuff a day into a compost bin.

- Dwarf Varigated Sweet Flag. I have several clumps of this happy little plant. It has proven to be a rather demure pond resident, somewhat unlike it's full-sized brethren. I have two 8"+ clumps that I returned to the soil last year that will READILY transition back to an aquatic life. I also have some in the pond that I would happily divide.

- Varigated Sweet Flag. (standard size) Keep these in a pot and watch out for creeping roots. I lift the pots every month or so last summer to snip runners to keep them from jumping to other nearby pots. Being a sap, I wind up with more plants as I stick the cutting into another pot and let them roll.

- unidentified Xanthosoma (elephant ear): I have quite a few of these around the garden, some in water, some in dirt. Some in moist dirt, some not so moist. Some in partial shade, some if full sun. No matter where I plant these they flouish! They have beautiful striations throughout the older leaves (pretty plain until about the 4th or 5th sets of leaves begin to open in early summer). Basically, think of the new Lime Zinger variety, except bigger and more complex in its coloration. I was given two tubers last summer and I now have no less than 8 LARGE clumps throughout our property. If grown in a pot, it's size will be restricted and it's demands for nutrients noticibly increased (especially if potted in the water).

- Rough Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale). Takes a while to establish itself, but gets quite a move on after that. In the pond I keep them potted and snip the "seed" (non-sterile) tops. Outside of the pond, I either keep them in a dry area where they're less likely to spread aggressively or else just let them go loose in moist areas that are off te beaten path. Not quite sure how I would safely package these, but I'd figure it out if you were twitching to get ahold of this as a result of a trade.

- Thalia (thalia dealbata). I would need to be mildly persuaded to let go of some of these. I know, they're more than moderately aggressive when they want to stretch their "legs," but I am in love with them in every way. I have one division in a 10" pot that I could be talked out of. Trust me, you'll only need one small pot to start with. If it's happy in your pond you'll have plenty of divisions next spring!

- Colocasia esculenta 'Imperial'. Another specimen that I'd need to be mildly coaxed out of, as I only have one pup available and ... well ... I suffer from a mild case of OCD ("mild" in my humble opinion, of course). I cannot get my hands on enough when it comes to aroids! My lord ... there are elephant ears and their cousins all OVER this place!


Come this fall (or, preferably next spring) I will finally start cutting loose with a whole bunch of various alocasia plants (and their cousins). My current collection includes alocasia guttata 'Bullata', alocasia amizonica, alocasia amazonica 'Purpley', alocasia sinuata (the giant, 9 ~ 11 foot, variety), xanthosoma saggittofolia (again, one of the 'giant' varieties), caladium 'Thai Beauty' and about 4 or 5 other caladium cultivars that I could not recall at the moment if I had to. If any of these interest you, keep in touch. I actually look forward to doing some trading with some of these pups next year (hopefully for other aroid species ... lol)

ps: I do have a dwarf water lily, but it's "her" first year in the family. Come next spring I should have a decent population of various lily's that I can divide. You might want to try http://www.lilypons.com ... I have done a decent amount of business with them and have continually been happy with them; not the cheapest place around, but REALLY good people, and always have had great luck with their plants (and fish). If nothing else, they have a nice online catalogue and a really nice printed catalogue that you can order (for free). Heck, I keep one on the coffee table! (much to my wife's chagrin. :o)


Something tells me someone is going to suggest we move this discussion to the trading forum in a tone similar to the one used when people say, "Would you two get a room?!?!?!"

ciao (puppy)

(oh, here's a pic of the heretofore unidentified xanthosoma. pic was taken of one of the "mother plants" about 7 or 8 weeks after I planted the culm last summer. Not a great shot, but it gives you an idea)