Plants you might not have thought of as water plants?

Are there any plants you grow in a pond or bog that you might not have ordinarily thought were suitable for that purpose?
I found a few. Here's one: Chinese Evergreen.

I bought this as a tiny starter plant, about 4" tall. Now its much bigger and just keeps growing. I put it directly into the stream, no pot, no soil, no nothing. It rooted in the gravel on the bottom and just took off.

I told someone once that I had this (and a few other plants) growing like this in the water and they said, "That's not possible, they just won't grow like that...eventually they will just wither away and die" but I am happy to report that this plant has lived here for well over a year now and is extremely happy. so don;t believe everyone who tells you something can't be done...

Have you tried Peace Lillies? Sharon

I put Hosta's in between rocks last summer and they were great.
Left them to overwinter and the roots still look healthy. I am hoping they will come back .

In the background you can see one with white edges. .

Peace lilies love ponds. So do impatiens. I have not tried hostas, that's a very good thought. Hedychium gingers love water too

I had some watercress last year. The grocery store sells bags of it. Just place between a rock crevice and the roots will take off.
The Koi like to nibble on it as an added benefit. It is sensitive to frost..so wait until last frost date in your area.

This message was edited Mar 29, 2009 6:12 PM

I have a peace lily that I could put in the pond.
I thought they were very low light plants though. ??
Guess I need to pot it in clay too? Lord knows I have plenty of it.

I had some potted Cala Lillies that were placed at waters edge that did very nicely.

I don;t think peace lilies are all that low light. I grow my variegated ones in pretty much part sun.

Great suggestions! I'm new to this and I already have many of the plants mentioned. What about colocasia? One of these looks like that.

yep, colocasias can be used. That's what is in pic #1. Black magic, Illustrius, Taro's, black ruffles, etc.
I have Illustrius I will be putting in the pond. They multiply like crazy for me here!
They are not 'supposed' to be hardy here but they are for me year after year. Probably cause I mulch 6".

Colocasias and water go hand in hand. Outdoors I grow almost all of the colocasias I have in either natural bogs on the property of containers with water or ponds. Florida is undergoing an ongoing climactic change to do with rain/drought periods. It used to be that you could count on thunderstorms here in the summer, almost every day, like clockwork between about 2pm and 5pm starting in June. But that doesn;t happen now and many areas are impacted by significant drought. Growing stuff that tolerates it in container ponds and small water gardens is a way to keep it watered without violating the water restrictions, which are just getting more and more strict here statewide.

Some alocasias will grow in the pond, and most of the Xanthosomas too.

Cannas grow well in the water as well.

All cannas?

Did you put your cala lilies bulbs right into the water and they didn't rot?

I like this post!

Linda...I kept my calla lillies in the pot in an inch or so of water.
They did great all spring and summer. Not sure if they will come back this spring as I forgot to put the pots indoors for the winter.
May need to get a few new ones ..they were very pretty.

Cannas are defininte water lovers.
I have this peace lily in the stream, right at the head of the waterfall...when I bought this it was labeled as an anubias, but I really think it is a spathyphyllum

This IS an anubias, it came to me as a trade. Most people grow these in aquariums, completely submerged. But they actually grow best with the roots in water and the greenery out of water. You just tie the roots to a log, without soil. This one is getting huge and will need to be divided soon

This is another plant I bought as a little 4" starter plant, I bought three that have different variegation patterns and colors. They are Draecena. I just plopped them into the stream without any soil and they have rooted in the bottom in the gravel. They are now starting to actually MULTIPLY!

Great suggestions, thanks. Question about cannas. I have some bulbs to start. I assume I grow them int a pot then sink them as suggested, right?

Also, golden pothos would be another good water plant. I grow it in a vase of water all the time. I think I will try tying the roots to a rock and sinking it in the shallow end of the pond.

Great idea for a topic of discussion! Have you tried Ruellas in water? Just wedge the plant in between rocks in your bog or pond. They will take off and flower as if they were oblivious to the fact that they've been transplanted. Peace lily do well in water, but need winter protection (in our zone) as well as cannas.

I actually have another water feature in my greenhouse besides the pond and stream, I have a large stone bowl that stays filled with water. I have an Epipremnum "Neon" (probably the same plant you are calling 'Golden Pothos' growing nearby, and a tendril grew up the side of the stone and has taken up residence in the water in the bowl!

Any of the pothos or philodendrons should be good in a water feature, they just won't make the winters out of zone 9or so - but if you keep them in pots you could bring them inside for the winter as hanging plants.

I like the dracena idea.
I will try my lone pot of callas that way.

Love your mossy rocks, goth

Thanks pyromomma! They get that moss because of overhead watering

This is a great thread. Thanks for starting it :)
I saw one pond shop offerering a red leaved hibiscus (Hibiscus acetosella) as a bog plant. Probably some of the other hardy types would be good as marginals too.
I wonder if sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas ) would be okay as well. I overwinter some of the pink variegated (Tricolor/Pink Frost) one every year in a glass of water in the window. I just change it every week or so and it does great. Once it warms up I put it back in the flower beds to multiply.

Angel tree baby, I have sweet potato vines in the yard here colder than you get and they freeze back and come back every Spring. They have been in the flowerbeds since we moved here in 2002 and I planted them that Spring...don;t yours come back??

Some plants are toxic to fish though, so if you have fish, you may want ot be careful.

Mint fills in the cracks everywhere...and makes great mojitos! ;)

I have chocolate mint that I am battling, it is everywhere, so yes, they do fill in the cracks! LOL

There are pictures of this ladies stream bed in NH on DW, I think she goes by the name of Song of Joy and she has the most beautiful stream lined with hostas,so it looks like the hostas will do fine in water.

This is my little stone bowl where the Neon Pothos has kind of decided to take a dip. I am looking for a 'permanent' resident for this water feature this season. Something low growing and kinda of small and easy to keep as there are plants mounted behind the bowl and to the sides. I tried a tropical water lily but the light was too low. Right now it just has some arachnis and duckweed

I have variegated monstera on both sides, climbing the walls, and some other philodendrons, some hoyas and assorted other stuff. The bowl actually sits on a 2 step raised terrace garden, there are anthuriums, calathea, bromeliads and a tree planted in this area (Erythina crista gallii)

Marsh marigolds look great in a pond. These were from last spring.
They are just starting to bloom again.

GothQn, the potato vine didn't come back this year but then we got pretty cold. I took it in because I figured it wouldn't come back if it got into the low 20's. I didn't mulch the ones outside or anything though. Some were under some other plants but those became toast this year as well lol. This winter was a dirty trick :)
That's a cute little bowl. I like how the moss covered it.

AngelTB....don't give up on the potato vine just yet...they potatoes they leave underground quite often resprout once the weather remains warm and we get a few good rains.

I'm going to try some watercress and peppermint this year in my (new) pond.

the (experiment) plan is to combine the water feature and hydroponics (of sorts)

perhaps some creeping thyme will border the pond...

aromatherapy.....

Say, Goth, could you take a far-away shot of your water garden so that we can see how it looks from your yard/street/house? I just love the woodlandy feel that you have going there.

I had a start of a daylily and put it in a pot in water in my garden room. It has grown all winter and now is putting up new shoots. When and if it ever warms up here I am putting it in the pond. I will be excited to see if it blooms like my daylilies that are in dirt.

Forget-Me-Nots ( Myosotis scorpiodes) and Chamelon Plant (Houttuynia cordata 'Variegeta')

We grow the Chameleon Plant in the yard here, its an invasive perennial. If I put it in the pond I'd be cleaning it out on a weekly basis, LOL.

Siberian Iris is a great water plant, I planted mine in a clay flower pot and sunk in in the shallow part of the watergarden. It overwintered in the same spot for several years. What did it in was another plant took over the pot and chocked it, best to pot by itself and thin out when it becomes root bound.

Great thread!

Is that acoris with it? (love this photo)
What is the plant with the triangular leaves (I should know it and brain is just not functioning)