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Publish - September 19, 1998 BY: SALLY SCALERA, HORTICULTURE AGENT
CREATE A WATERGARDEN IN A CONTAINER
I have a gardening project that everyone can do regardless of where you live. It doesn’t matter if you live in an apartment, condo, or if you have 15 acres. This project doesn’t require much room and can be done in either full sun, partial sun or even shade! To put your curiosity to rest, the project is water gardening in containers! I first got interested in this topic when I saw a book titled Water Gardening in Containers by Helen Nash and C. Greg Speichert. The containers can range in size from very small to quite large, it just all depends on how much room you have or what kind of a look you want. Also, when shopping for containers you will actually want to look for containers that do not have a drainage hole! I first started with a hardy lotus, called Momo Botan, that I put in a white ceramic pot. Along with the lotus I also planted some parrot feather (Myriophyllum aquatica) that grows up and cascades over the pot. In another, smaller pot, I planted a dwarf papyrus (Cyperus isocladus) and in a third pot I planted a water iris. I learned, the hard way, that the pot was too small for the large iris plants. The plants soon became stunted so, since then I have planted them into a larger pot. The lotus and parrot feather are out in full sun and the iris is in the shade on the front porch. I planted all of the plants in the bottom of the container using sand from the yard. Following the label directions, I put fertilizer tablets in the soil and then I put small pebbles over the top of the soil to hold it down so it wouldn’t float around and make the water look dirty. I also wanted to try an indoor water garden for my desk and I learned a lot from my first attempt. To begin, I ordered plants that could grow in the shade. The plants that I ordered were Aquatic mint (Mentha aquatica), Lemon bacopa (Bacopa caroliniana) and Red-stemmed lizard tail (Saururus Cairns remonetize). When I received the plants they were bare root. The lizard tail was way to big to fit in the clear bowl that I wanted to use on my desk. Currently, the lizard tail is looking great in a white pot on our front porch. I planted the aquatic mint and the lemon bacopa in a glass bowl and then put green and blue colored marbles over the soil to hold it down. I had visions of a pretty water garden for my desk where I could add a fish or two. Well, it was ugly. It was very dark because of all of the soil in the bottom. Also, I found out that inside was just too shady for the aquatic mint because it was getting very leggy. The aquatic mint is now growing in a blue beach bucket on our front porch too. I have divided the dwarf papyrus and planted a small section in a 3 ½ inch diameter beige ramekin bowl. I placed small pebbles over the soil in the small pot and then put it in the center of the glass bowl. In the bottom of the glass bowl I put blue marbles.For those of you who would like to try water gardening in containers you can get started this weekend! Many of your local nurseries carry water plants as well as attractive pots or containers that have no drainage holes. Just figure out were you will want to place the container and notice the light conditions there. That will help when choosing plants. The two mail order catalogs that I have are Crystal Palace Perennials at PO Box 154, St. John, Indiana 46373, (219) 374-9419 and AquaMart, Inc. at PO Box 547399, Orlando, FL 32854-7399, (800) 245-5814.
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