The heartleaf pikeweed is undoubtedly one of the loveliest pond plants. With proper care, you can enjoy them for a long time.
The heart-leaved pikeweed (Pontederia cordata) beautifies every garden pond. While the roots anchor themselves in the swampy ground, the leaves protrude up to 50 centimeters out of the water. The plant forms spike-shaped inflorescences. The blue-violet flowers embellish the picture by the pond well into autumn. If you upgrade your watering hole with heart-leaved pikeweed, you will also attract numerous butterflies and insects, thereby creating a living biotope.
Origin of Heartleaf Pikeweed
Heartwort belongs to the water hyacinth family and is native to North America. The plant owes its name to its heart-shaped leaves, which contrast with the pretty blue-purple flower heads.
Characteristics of heartleaf pikeweed
The heart-leaved pikeweed is only suitable to a limited extent for a small pond. The plant spreads quickly and tends to form dense mats. This can lead to overpopulation in the water body. If you want to prevent this, leave the heart-leaved pikeweed in the plant basket and thus prevent uncontrolled spread under water.
The flowers of the plant quickly attract butterflies and insects. Dragonflies prefer to lay their eggs on the plant. Fish find shelter and camouflage in the stalks of heartleaf pikeweed.
The plant poses no danger to children or pets. The leaves and seeds are even edible.
| Heartleaf pikeweed (Pontederia cordata) | |
|---|---|
| Growth: | curved, inclined, sprawling, forming rhizomes |
| Growth: | 40 - 60 cm |
| Growth: | 40 - 50 cm |
| Flower: | June - August |
| Location: | Sun |
| Floor: | loamy-humic, high nutrient requirement |
Planting the heartleaf pikeweed
» Find the right location
TheThe ideal location for heart-leaved pikeweed is a sunny garden pond. Planting takes place in the shallow water zone at a water depth of 15 to 30 centimetres.
Small and large water gardens can benefit from heartleaf pikeweed. If you don't have your own pond, you don't have to do without the pretty plant. The plants also thrive in a mini pond that can be integrated on the balcony or terrace.
» Choosing the ideal substrate
The plants prefer loamy to sandy soil. Heartleaf pikeweed can also be cultivated in a simple gravel bed in nutrient-rich waters.
Tip: Normal garden soil is not suitable for pond plants. An oversupply of nutrients promotes the growth of algae in water.
» Planting
The planting can be done directly in the pond bottom. Alternatively, cultivation in a plant basket is also possible. However, the hobby gardener then has to regularly remove the plant from the water and repot it.
A planting distance of between 40 and 50 centimeters must be maintained. Group planting is possible. But then it should be a larger body of water or a swimming pond. Groups of three to five plants appear particularly decorative.
What should be considered when caring for heartleaf pikeweed?
Plants planted directly underground do not require much care. If the plant is put into water in a container, it should be transferred to the deep water zone in autumn or wintered indoors in a bright and frost-free place.
In a nutrient-rich garden pond, heart-leaved pike needs no fertilization. A nutrient deficiency is indicated by a lack of flowers or yellow leaves. Then liquid fertilizer for pond plants should be given. Special fertilizer sticks are also commercially available:
Pretty varieties at a glance
In addition to the heart-shaped pikeweed with the heart-shaped leaves and blue-violet flowers described here, other attractive varieties are available:
| Hair variety | Features |
| Alba | white flowers |
| Pink Pons | pink flowers |
| Sagittata | Growth up to 1.6 meters |
| Lanceolata | lanceolate leaves growth height up to 1.2 meters |
Cutting the heartleaf hake
Dead plant parts can be removed with aremove sharp knife at any time. If the plant grows too luxuriantly, division is possible. To do this, the heart-leaved pikeweed must be taken out of the water. The roots are slightly fanned out and the individual rhizomes are visible. These can be easily separated and replanted.
In the autumn the pikeweed loses its leaves and can be pruned back generously.
Propagating Heartleaf Pikeweed
In addition to the division just described, which serves both to rejuvenate and to propagate the heart-leaved pikeweed, sowing is also possible. The seeds can be collected in autumn.
Proceed as follows when sowing:
1. Fill a flat bowl with water (about four centimetres)
2. Sand or cotton wool are suitable as substrate
3. Put the seeds in the planting bowl
4. Set up the planting bowl in a bright and warm place5. Check the water level and top up if necessary
6. Wait for germination
After germination, the young plants are pricked out and further cultivated in a mixture of pond soil and sand. If the plants grow above the water surface, they can be placed in an aquarium. The filling height should be about ten centimeters. From the end of April the young plants can move to the garden pond.
Diseases and pests on heartleaf pikeweed
The robust plant is largely spared from disease or pest infestation. Occasionally, aphids can appear. These can usually be combated by treating them with a hard jet of water.
Overwintering the Heartleaf Pike
The plant is only conditionally hardy. The hobby gardener has it easiest when cultivating in a plant basket. This can be easily removed from the water and brought to a suitable winter quarters. A cold water aquarium is ideal for overwintering indoors. From April the plant can move back into the garden pond.
The plant can also overwinter in the deep water zone of the body of water. The water depth should then be at least half a meter.