Water Violet (Hottonia palustris)

Water Violet (Hottonia palustris)

A beautiful native oxygenating pond plant with feathery underwater foliage and delicate pale lilac flowers

Water Violet (Hottonia palustris) is one of the most attractive native oxygenating pond plants for UK ponds. It combines soft, finely divided underwater foliage with elegant flower stems that can rise above the water in late spring and summer.

The delicate pale lilac to almost white flowers give Water Violet a natural, graceful appearance, making it a lovely choice for wildlife ponds, ornamental ponds and natural planting schemes. Beneath the surface, the feathery foliage provides shelter for tadpoles, newts, aquatic insects and small fish.

During active growth, Water Violet produces oxygen during daylight and uses nutrients from the water. It is best used as part of a balanced planting scheme with other oxygenators, marginal plants and waterlilies.

Water Violet grows best in clear, still or slow moving water where light can reach the submerged foliage. New bunches are often best started in shallower water while they establish, then allowed to grow into deeper areas once settled.

The weighted bunches can be placed directly into the pond, tucked into gravel or planted into an aquatic basket if you want more control over where the plant establishes.

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Potted Oxygenators and Bunched Oxygenators

Potted oxygenators are supplied rooted in aquatic soil and are usually placed on pond shelves or in shallow water. They often provide useful cover near the water surface, making them valuable for amphibians, froglets and aquatic insects.

Bunched oxygenators are usually weighted and placed into deeper areas of the pond, where they can sink towards the pond floor and root into the substrate.

Water Violet is best used as a weighted bunched oxygenator that can provide submerged cover and seasonal flowering interest. It pairs well with potted oxygenators on shallow shelves, marginals and waterlilies to create planting at several different depths.

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Key Benefits

• UK native oxygenating pond plant
• Supplied as 5 ready weighted bunches
• Soft feathery submerged foliage
• Delicate pale lilac to white flowers
• Excellent shelter for tadpoles, newts and pond insects
• Suitable for wildlife ponds and natural ponds
• Good for still or slow moving water
• Adds both underwater cover and seasonal flowers

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Reasons to Buy

• One of the prettiest native oxygenators
• Ideal if you want submerged cover and flowers
• Excellent for wildlife friendly ponds
• Simple weighted bunches are easy to place
• Works well with potted oxygenators and waterlilies

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Care Instructions

• Place the weighted bunches into clear, still or slow moving pond water. Where possible, tuck the weighted ends into gravel, fine substrate, aquatic soil or natural pond silt.
• For best establishment, start the bunches at around 5cm to 30cm deep, then allow the plant to develop before moving it deeper if required.
• Grow in full sun or partial shade. Clear water and good light will improve flowering and healthy underwater growth.
• Remove excess growth when required and leave removed material beside the pond for around 24 hours before composting.

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Flowering Period

Water Violet usually flowers from June to August, producing delicate pale lilac to white flowers above the water on slender upright stems.

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Size and Growing Conditions

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Dispatching Your Pond Plants

Your Water Violet will arrive as freshly prepared weighted bunches, ready to place directly into your pond.

Each bunch is carefully prepared and weighted to help it sink naturally and establish in a suitable position.

Plants are dispatched fresh during the growing season and may vary in appearance depending on the time of year, water temperature and current nursery growth.

Open the packaging promptly on arrival and place the bunches into pond water as soon as possible. Never allow bunched oxygenators to dry out.

To avoid plants being held in depots over a weekend, we do not usually dispatch on Fridays. Highlands and Islands orders using a 2 day service are not normally dispatched on Thursdays.

Explore more oxygenating pond plants or browse our complete pond plants range.