Common name: Pickerel Rush/Weed
Family: Pontederiaceae
Height x width: 24-30" x 24-36"
Growth rate: moderate
Foliage: glossy, lance to heart-shaped or variable on rounded stems
Flowers: soft blue spikes 4-6" thoughout summer
Hardiness: zones 3-10
Soil: heavy loam at water edges (marginal)
Light: sun
Pests and Problems: none serious
Landscape habit, uses: edges of watercourses, ponds, water containers
Other interest: native to eastern N. America to the Caribbean; common name from attraction of young pike to its underwater roots for cover; genus name after 18th century professor of botany in Padua G. Pontedera
Other culture: having a vigorous creeping rhizome it is best planted in a submerged large tub to keep it in check; easy and useful in water gardens
Propagation: spring division once growth starts easiest, or seeds when ripe
Species, other taxa:
• cordata--species as described above
• cordata 'Alba'--as for species except white flowers
• cordata var. lancifolia--Giant Pickerel Rush, 4', deep blue flowers in 4-6" spikes frequently throughout summer, long dark green leaves
• lanceolta: cordata var. lancifolia
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