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If we want a pond for keeping
ornamental fish or for having the sound of
Tina - A Tropical Lily |
running water then a water garden in the shade is fine, however
if one of our major reasons for having a pond is to be able to grow
all of those glorious water lilies and other luscious plants then
we want as much sun as possible. Sometimes we have no choice but
to place our ponds in areas of little or no sunshine, or perhaps
the pond was placed in the shade before the importance of sun was
realized. For those situations, our plant choices may be limited
but beauty can still be obtained.
Most aquatic plants require at least 4 - 6 hours
of direct sun to flourish, there are however, several varieties
of water lily, marginal, and floating plants that will do well
in partial shade (3 - 4 hours of direct sun).
As a rule, water lilies love sunlight. For optimum
performance and flowering full sun is needed. However, you can
still have water lilies in partial shade. The foliage will still
grow and you may still get an occasional flower. Some lilies have
mottled foliage that will give you some variety in your floating
pads. The following varieties are some of the better performing
water lilies in partial shade.
Hardy Water Lilies
- Comanche
- This free flowering lily has a long blooming season, it’s
flowers open yellow and turn to a coppery bronze.
- Indiana
- The flowers of this small lily open apricot colored then change
to an orange-red.
- Attraction
- This red lily is a very good bloomer. It is one of the larger
hardy red water lilies.
- James
Brydon - The flowers of this medium sized lily are a deep
red. Its pads are bronze-like in color.
- Texas
Dawn - This yellow lily has leaves that are speckled with
a reddish-brown color.
- Virginia
- This medium-large lily contains star-shaped white flowers.
- Charlene
Strawn - This yellow lily is a good choice for medium to
large ponds.
Tropical Water Lilies
- Panama
Pacific - This viviparous lily has violet-purple flowers.
- Tina
- The purple flowers of this lily have a sweet fragrance. It
is a very free bloomer.
- August
Koch - The blue flowers of this lily are cuplike with a
nice fragrance.
- Director
Moore - The star-shaped flowers of this variety are a deep
purple. The pads are speckled with purple.
- Shirley
Bryne - The flowers of this viviparous lily are a deep pink
color.
With the water lilies taken care of we are not
quite as limited in our plantings. There are many shallow water
plants that will perform well in shady and partially shady locations.
Some of the better options are listed below.
[ USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
Map ]
Shallow Water Plants
- Acorus
calamus variegates (Variegated Sweetflag) - This plant has
iris-like foliage with white and green stripes. It grows to
36” and is hardy zones 4-11.
- *Colocasia
antiquorum (Imperial Taro) - These heart shaped taro leaves
are purple and green. It grows to 3’-4’. It is hardy
zones 9-11.
- *Colocasia
esculenta (Black Magic Taro) - This taro’s foliage
is very dark and can grow up to 6’. It is hardy zones
9-11.
- *Colocasia
esculenta 'Ruffles' (Ruffles Taro) - This taro’s foliage
has 'ruffles' on the edges of the leaves. It thrives in shade
to partial shade and can grow up to 8 ft in height. Ruffles
Taro is hardy zones 7-10.
- Cypress
alternifolius (Umbrella Palm) - This popular plant grows
up to 5’ and is hardy zones 8-11.
- Houttuynia
cordata variegata (Chameleon Plant) - This small plant grows
to 12” with multi-colored foliage. It is hardy zones 5-11.
- Hydrocotyle
vericillata (Water Pennywort) - This spreading plant’s
small umbrella shaped leaves grow up to 12”. It is hardy
zones 5-11.
- Iris
Louisiana - These irises are available in black, red, white,
and blue. The spring bloomers are hardy in zones 5-11 and grow
to 24”.
- Juncus
effusus spiralis (Corkscrew Rush) - This plant has coiled
foliage that grows to 24”. It is hardy zones 3-8.
- Lobelia
fulgens (Cardinal Flower) - This plant’s bright red
flowers appear in summer. It grows to 36” and is hardy
zones 5-11.
- Mentha
aquatica (Aquatic Mint, Water Mint) - This plant grows up
to 12” and is hardy zones 6-11.
- Myriophyllum
aquatica (Parrot’s Feather) - This feather-like plant
floats over the water. It is hardy zones 6-11.
- Neptunia
aquatica (Sensitive Plant) - This plant’s Mimosa-like
leaves close at the touch. Its yellow flowers appear in summer.
It grows to 6” and is hardy zones 9-11.
- Orontium
aquaticum (Golden Club) - This plant grows up to 12”
and is hardy zones 5-10. It has velvety foliage. Its yellow
spikes appear in spring.
- *Peltandra
virginica (Arrow Arum) - This plant grows to 24” and
is hardy zones 5-9. Its foliage resembles that of an arrowhead.
- *Pontederia
cordota (Pickerel Rush) - This plant has heart shaped foliage.
It’s spikes of blue or white flowers appear in summer.
It is hardy zones 3-11.
- Saururus
cernuus (Lizard’s Tail) - This plant grows to 36”.
Its white flowers appear in spring & last through summer.
It is hardy zones 4-10.
- Sagittaria
graminea ‘Crushed Ice’ (Crushed Ice) - This
plant will grow to 24”, it flowers in spring but has beautiful
very light green and dark green foliage. It is hardy in zones
4-11.
If water lilies didn’t work well in your
garden, then you can still get surface coverage with floating
plants or lily-likes.
[ USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
Map ]
Floating Plants
- Azolla
caroliniana (Fairy Moss) - This is a small free floater
with green and red foliage. It is hardy zones 8-11.
- Limnobium
spongia (Frogbit) - This floater has small round leaves
and is hardy zones 6-11.
- Pistia
stratioites (Water Lettuce) - The leaves of this floater
resemble lettuce leaves. It is hardy zones 9-11.
Lily-Like Aquatics
- Aponogeton
distachyus (Water Hawthorne) - This lily-like plant has
elliptical leaves and white flowers. It flowers in spring and
fall and goes dormant in the summer. It is hardy zones 6-9.
- Marsilea
Mutica (4-Leaf Clover) - This running plant has 4-leaf clover
leaves that float on the water surface. It is hardy zones 6-11.
[ USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
Map ]
* Denotes plants that are good performers
in filtered or fewer than 3 hours direct sun a day.
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