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Gardening Answers Knowledgebase

Search Results for ' Cornus stolonifera'

PAL Questions: 1 - Garden Tools: 1

Keywords: Acorus, Thalia, Typha latifolia, Sagittaria latifolia, Pontederia cordata, Cornus alba, Cornus stolonifera, Spiraea douglasii, Athyrium filix-femina, Lysichiton americanus, Scrophularia, Wetland plants, Carex, Native plants--Care and maintenance, Soil erosion, Iris, Deer

PAL Question:

We need some advice and we are hoping you can help. We would like to replant the banks of our fish pond and want to know what kinds of plants would hold a steep slope and be compatible with the fish and each other. We have a large deer and elk population and we get substantial amounts of rain. We like grass-type shrubs and we need a ground cover that will not take over and is evergreen.

View Answer:

From the research I have done, it seems that a pond with a sloping side is a very good idea, but if erosion is a serious issue, you may want to think about both plants and physical controls such as coconut fiber matting to stabilize the banks. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden's guide (1997), The Natural Water Garden, has a description of using coconut fiber tubes (also called biologs) laid horizontally along a bank, which can also be used as a secure planting medium for seedlings.

As far as deer-resistant plants which may work for your site, iris and spiraea appear to be unappealing to deer, so you might want to try some of the irises which prefer moist situations, such as Iris laevigata, and Iris versicolor (blue flag), as well as Spiraea douglasii (hardhack).

Other plants which may help with preventing erosion are Lysichiton americanum (skunk cabbage), Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern), Carex obnupta (sedge), and Cornus stolonifera (red osier dogwood) or C. alba (red twig dogwood).

Some grassy or reedy plants which do well as marginal (water's edge) plants include Acorus calamus 'Variegatus' (variegated sweet flag), Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed), Sagittaria latifolia (American arrowhead), and Typha latifolia (cattail). All of these are deciduous.

For evergreen plants, you could try Scrophularia auriculata 'Variegata' (water figwort), an evergreen perennial with cream-edged foliage. The flowers should be deadheaded to prevent self-seeding. Thalia dealbata (hardy canna) is evergreen, with long-stalked blue-green leaves and violet flower spikes.

Season All Season
Date 2006-03-20
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Keywords: Zinnia, Salix, Philadelphus lewisii, Cornus stolonifera, Butterflies

Garden Tool:

Want to encourage butterflies to take up residence in your garden this year? Red Osier Dogwood and willows are just a few of the plants that caterpillars eat, while adult butterflies drink the nectar from Western Mock Orange and zinnias. Read a brochure produced by the Washington chapter of the North American Butterfly Association to learn more about what plants support butterflies (pdf).For a print copy send $5 to Butterfly Gardens & Habitats, 909 Birch St., Baraboo, WI 53913 USA. Specify "Western Washington")

Season: Spring
Date: 2007-05-16
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April 19 2012 16:02:30

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