How to Grow Pontederia Cordata

The pickerelweed plant, Pontederia cordata, was named after Italian Julius Pontedera, a botany professor at the University of Padua in Italy. Found from Nova Scotia in Canada to Florida, this native aquatic plant grows along the shorelines of shallow lakes and ponds that are home to pickerel fish. This herbaceous perennial grows between 3 and 5 feet tall and produces 4-to-5-inch-long spikes with clusters of blue-violet flowers that attract butterflies and bees. Easy to grow, Pontederia cordata makes a colorful addition to backyard ponds.

Instructions

- 1
  Grow Pontederia cordata at the edge of a backyard pond. Keep the plants in drainage-free containers to keep them from spreading out and overtaking the pond, if you prefer. Set the plants out in late spring or early summer.
- 2
  Set the plants in full sun. Pontederia cordata tolerates part shade but flowers will not be as profuse.
- 3
  Place the plants in moist wet soils such as mud or loam. Pontederia cordata grows in 12 inches of water. Keep the plants submerged.
- 4
  Space the plants 36 to 60 inches apart. Pontederia cordata produces underground stems called rhizomes that sends out shoots, forming a dense vegetative mat.
- 5
  Dig the plants up and divide the root system. The new plant propagations can be replanted. Do this in April before the plants have flowered.

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