Lesser Water PlantainDescription
Useful little plant that has lots of pretty, small pale lilac flowers. Grow with foliage submerged under water to help with oxygenation. Readily produces seeds from early Summer.
Top tip: Grows more readily in deeper water if planted in with other marginal plants.
Flowers: May/September.
Height of plant: 5-30cm from crown with tips of leaves and flowers held above the water surface.
Propagation: Division of plants April/September
How to plant: Plant into a 5lt planting basket using heavy garden loam or Westland Aquatic Soil and place on a shelf in the pond. Fill the planting basket with soil to just below the rim pressing the soil down very firmly. Then push you finger into the soil to make a planting hole. Hold the plant securely and drop the roots into the hole so that the root-shoot junction is level with the rim of the basket. Firm in with soil all around the roots, being careful not to damage any new shoots. For aesthetic purposes, the soil can then be top dressed with no more than 1cm of pea gravel.
Using the same method, you can also underplant baldellia into planting baskets containing taller plants such as irises, Acorus and Lythrum.
Recommended planting depth: The planting depth for this plant measured from soil surface to water surface and not including any gravel dressing is 5-30cm.
