Pontederia cordata
Pickerelweed
Common names: Pickerel weed
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 50 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Flowering
- Jul–Sep
- Hardiness
- Hardy
Photo: Cephas · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Pickerelweed, botanically Pontederia cordata, is a marsh and shallow-water plant with heart-shaped, glossy leaves and blue-violet flower spikes. From mid-July into September it attracts bees and bumblebees at the edge of your pond. In the wild form it reaches heights of 40 to 80 cm and gradually forms dense clumps. It is an attractive marginal and flowering partner for natural garden ponds.
Care instructions
Plant Pickerelweed in the shallow-water zone of your pond, with 5 to 15 cm of water above the root ball and a sunny to at most lightly partly shaded site. The soil may be nutrient-rich and loamy, ideally in a planting basket with pond soil, which helps you keep its spread under control. Remove spent flower spikes regularly, which extends the flowering period well into late summer. In mild winters Pickerelweed tolerates frost in the water without problems. In colder locations, keep the root zone free of freezing beneath the ice cover. Dividing the clumps every three to four years in spring, around calendar weeks 15 to 18, keeps the plant vital.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringJul–Sep
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
moist, nutrient-rich, humus-rich, loamy
Pickerel weed grows at the edge of ponds and streams and needs permanently wet to shallowly flooded soils, never dry sites. Ideal is nutrient-rich, humus-rich mud or loam in shallow zones up to about 30 cm water depth. A poor, sandy bottom slows growth noticeably.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
May–Jun
In a pond, the natural nutrients from mud and organic input are usually quite enough. When growing in a container in pond substrate, you can work some well-rotted compost into a fabric bag in May and June and lay it by the rhizome. Do not feed directly into open water, so that algae are not needlessly encouraged.
Overwintering
Pickerel weed is hardy as long as the rhizome does not freeze through. In autumn, place the root ball in a zone with a water depth of at least 40 cm, where it stays frost-free. In shallow ponds or containers, a thick mulch layer or a move to a frost-free container room over winter is worthwhile.
Propagation
Methods
- Division
- From seed
The most reliable way is to divide the rhizomes in spring as soon as new shoots are visible, and to plant the pieces straight into baskets with pond substrate. Make sure each division carries at least one strong shoot. Sowing from ripe seed is possible, but lengthy, and needs constant moisture and warmth for germination. For quick results in your own pond, division is the more practical choice.
For your garden
Grow Pickerelweed yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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