Seasonally-available water plants are in stock now. Here’s what’s available, for water gardens of all sizes. Small space gardeners, consider smaller floating plants or ‘Patio Joe’ hardy waterlily in a non-draining glazed cermic bowl (yes, we have those) or lined wine barrel planter (liners usually available at Lowe’s).
Hardy Waterlilies
‘Sunfire’
Amazing large blooms, pink & yellow-orange flower that appears to glow. 8×5 pot
‘Berit Strawn’
This cultivar provides a great combination of unique pink-peach blossoms with leaves uncharacteristic of hardy lilies. These dark green leaves have heavy mottling, with newer leaves being more of a bronzy color. 8×5 pot
‘Colorado’
Starting yellow with pink in spring, then smoked salmon in summer. Cactus
shaped blooms of 4-6 inches. New leaves are speckled in burgandy. Grows 4-6 feet wide in full sun to part shade in 6-36 inches of water. Good for medium ponds.
Gorgeous waterlily; very eye catching. Strong salmon bloom stands out of the water. Excellent bloomer, with marble foliage. A must have! 8×5 pot.
‘Patio Joe’
Pinky Peach. Cup shaped blooms of 3-5 inches. Green leaves with slight speckling. Grows 3-5 feet wide in full sun in 6-24 inches of water. Good for any size pond. 8×5 pot.
‘Virginalis’
Paper white blooms. Goblet shaped flowers of 4-5 inches. Large, virgin-white blooms on medium plant. Possibly the finest white. Green leaves with a purple cast. Can grow to 4-8 feet wide in full sun in 6-48 inches of water.
Profuse bloomer. 8×5 pot.
‘Black Princess’
This water lily has magnificent, deep red-black, goblet shaped blossoms. Green leaves, new growth is flushed with red, which fades as the leaf matures. Very prolific hardy water lily. Planting Depth: 6-36″. 8×5 pot.
‘Wanvisa’
Strikingly variegated flower of orangy pink, finely striated and speckled with yellow. It has salmon-pink petals streaked with white/cream, variegation never before seen in a hardy waterlily. 8×5 pot.
Wanvisa is described as a good bloomer with pads heavily speckled with deep bronze and bright green. Its vigorous and compact growth habits make it a good choice for most water gardens. Wanvisa was winner of the 2010 IWGS Best New Water Lily of the Year award and also winner of their Collectors™ Aquatic Plants of the Year for 2011. The Wanvisa Hardy Lily can be planted in depths 12-15″ over the crown and prefers 6-8 hours of direct sunlight.
Japanese Iris
Iris ensata ‘Pinstripe’, 1-gal pot
Iris ensata ‘Yamata Ikoku’, 1-gal pot
Floating Plants
Fairy Moss (Azolla caroliniana)
This tiny fern is mostly found floating on the surface of water but it is also ideal as a ground cover in wet areas. If there is sufficient moisture it will spread over wood as well. The fronds are green under typical light but flush a dark red under intense lighting.
Mosaic Plant (Ludwigia sedioides)
A floating leaf, marginal aquatic perennial grown as an annual. Red and green diamond-shaped leaves in rosettes (3-6″wide) float on the surface. Watch for small cup-shaped yellow flowers (2″) in summer. Very easy growers, these plants are great for surface coverage and algae elimination. They also provide protection for Koi and other fish from predators.
Ruffled Water Lettuce (Pistia strat.)
Tropical, free floating plant. Velvety ribbed leaves form delicate, pale green rosettes. Resembles a cabbage plant. The leaves grows 8 – 10 in. long and 4 in. wide and produce plantlets that stretch out from the mother plant on slender stems. These can be separated and the older plants can be thinned out. If yellowing occurs the plants can be separated from the pond and fertilized. Excellent in shady ponds.
Water Velvet (Salvinia oblongifolia)
Tropical floating aquatic with larger, longer leaves than other water velvets. small floating fern that grows slowly in clusters at the edge of the pond like a floating carpet where frogs often sit.
Water Hawthorne (Aponogeton distachyus)
Very attractive plant for cooler water in the fall, winter, and spring. Flowers in the spring and again in the fall. In southern climates, Water Hawthorne will often bloom all winter long. Water Hawthorne extends the season of flowers in the pond, blooming before water lilies in the spring and flowering again in the fall after water lilies have finished blooming. Blooms are white with black stamens and have a vanilla fragrance. The foliage is elliptical, shiny, and dark green, sometimes with a tinge of purple. It grows in sun to part shade in water from 6 inches to 4 feet deep with a spread of about 24-30 inches. Water Hawthorne is hardy in cold water and can withstand a freeze, needing no particular winter care or attention.
Yellow Snowflake (Nymphoides geminata)
Leaves are distinctive dark chocolate brown with bright green veins. Five-petaled, butter yellow flowers stand out of the water; petals are attractively fringed. Scrumptious.
Photos courtesy of our supplier, Oregon Aquatics
