The golden-club is an eye-catcher in every water garden with its golden yellow flower head. This is how planting and care are successful.
Profile of golden-club:
Scientific name: Orontium aquaticum
Plant family: arum family (Araceae)
Other names: golden club, floating arum, never-wets, tawkin
Planting time: Mid-May
Flowering period: May to June
Location: sunny
Soil quality: loamy, nutrient rich, humus rich
These information are for temperate climate!
Use in: group planting, pond planting, natural garden, water garden
Winter hardiness: hardy, USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 7 (-15 °C / +5 °F)
Bee and insect friendly: No
Plant characteristics and classification of golden-club
Plant order, origin and occurrence of golden-club
The golden-club (Orontium aquaticum), also known as floating arum, never-wets or tawkin, is an impressive aquatic plant that is particularly suitable for the shallow water zone in the water garden. The species from the arum family (Araceae) is native to swamps and waters in the eastern United States.
Characteristics of golden-club
Plant
Over the years, the slowly and clumpy growing perennial develops a richly branched and deep root system. The height of growth is around 20 to 40 centimeters (8 to 16 in), whereby Orontium aquaticum growing partially under water.
Leaves
Depending on the water level, the elongated, elliptical leaves stretch upright or float on the water surface. The foliage appears blue-green with a silvery sheen.
Blossoms
In the early summer between May and June, golden-club develops golden yellow spadices, which show up on thick white stems.
Fruit
The fruit heads of the golden-club mostly float on the water surface, whereby the pea-shaped, green fruits fall off over time.
Golden-club – cultivation and care
Location
Golden-club thrives best in full sun. The warmer the water, the faster the plant will grow.
Soil
The deep-rooting plant prefers a loamy, humus-rich, deep soil that is rich in nutrients and permanently wet. A water depth between 10 and 25 centimeters (4 and 10 in) is ideal.
Planting
The golden-club is best placed in sufficiently large baskets in the garden pond or other body of water. So you can easily remove the somewhat frost-sensitive plant again to overwinter it on a frost-free location. The optimal time to plant the garden pond is around mid-May, when nor more frosts occur.
Propagation
In a deep substrate the golden-club propagates abundantly through the formation of runners. It can best be propagated in a targeted manner by division. A good time to divide the aquatic plant is in spring or autumn.
Care / Watering / Feritilzation
Orontium aquaticum is extremely easy to care for. Even with changing water levels, the perennial usually has no problems. The plant does not need to be fertilized.
Diseases and pests
The flowers of Orontium aquaticum are often eaten by snails. You should therefore collect them in good time.
Wintering
Before the first night frosts, Orontium aquaticum is taken out of the water and overwintered in a bright, frost-free place. Make absolutely sure that the substrate does not dry out during this time. Alternatively, you can cover the plants in the swamp area for the winter with leaves.
Use in the garden
The golden club is a recommended marsh plant for the garden pond, but it is also suitable for the marsh zone of flowing water such as a stream. Marsh marigolds, buckbean and water forget-me-nots are great companions. It also cuts a fine figure in the foreground of yellow water lilies.
You can also place this plant in a swamp bed adjacent to the pond, provided the water level is at least a few centimeters above the substrate.
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