Frog spoon ∗ The big guide from A to Z

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Alisma
• Genus: frog spoon with 9 species
• Family: Frogspoon family (Alismataceae)
• Occurrence: Europe, Asia, North America
• Growth type: perennial marsh and aquatic plant
• Growth height: 20 cm to 100 cm
• leaves: ovate to broadly lanceolate
• Flowers: panicles
• Roots: tuberous rhizomes
• Toxicity: toxic
• Hardiness: hardy
• Use: garden pond, water garden, stream

Occurrence

Frogspoon (Alisma) are an amphibious living genus of plants from the family Alismataceae. The decorative marsh and aquatic plants are found worldwide in temperate and subtropical climate zones. In Central Europe frog spoons often inhabit the shore zones of ponds, pools, ponds and moats. Native Alisma species prefer to thrive in standing and slow-flowing water, where the soil is nutrient-rich.

growth

With their preference for amphibious locations, frog spoons are recommended for the creative design of garden ponds, stream and swampy water worlds. These key growth figures explain why this is so:

• growth type: deciduous, herbaceous perennial as a rooting aquatic plant or marsh plant.
• growth habit: erect, loose clumps with submerged aquatic leaves, emersed basal air leaves and long-stalked, white to pink inflorescences in several tiers.
• growth height: 20cm to 100cm.
• growth width: 30cm to 50cm.
• root: tuberous rhizomes, corms.
• Horticulturally interesting properties: hardy, easy to care for, robust, friendly to insects, water-purifying, runner-forming, naturalized by self-sowing, slightly poisonous.

Real frog spoon - naturally beautiful in the garden kingdom

leaves

Native frog's spoon forms two types of foliage leaves, which are characterized by these characteristics:

• air leaves (emersed): basal, long-stalked blade, broadly ovate, cordate or lanceolate with smooth leaf margin.
• water leaves (submersed): flowing, ribbon-like to grassy.
• sheet size: Petiole 10-25 cm long, leaf blade 6-20 cm long, 1.5-12 cm wide.
• leaf colors: fresh green to blue-green with clearly visible leaf veins.

blossoms

In summer, filigree inflorescences float above the basal leaf rosettes with these attributes:

• inflorescence: erect, leafless, up to 70 cm long stalk with storied flower panicles.
• single flower: trifoliate, 3 green sepals (2-3 mm long), 3 white-pink petals (3-6 mm long), 6 stamens.
• single flower size: 1-1.5 cm in diameter
• flower ecology: hermaphrodite, homogamous pollen disc flower.
• pollinator: mainly hoverflies and other water-near insects.
• heyday: June to August
• fruit: split fruits

The white to pink individual flowers are enthroned on a 1.5 to 3.5 cm long pedicel and attract the visit of pollinating insects. For this purpose, the stamens are equipped with basal nectar tissue as a reward for pollen transport. Split fruits form from pollinated flowers, which disintegrate into buoyant partial fruits. The seeds contained therein are cold germs and float on the water surface for up to 15 months.

Frogspoon Species

From the cosmopolitan Alisma genus, these three species of frogs can be admired in the wild, in parks and in garden ponds:

Plant frog spoons

You can plant common frogspoon and its native species at any time, as long as the swampy ground is not frozen. The best planting time is in the spring, so that the rhizomes can build up well until winter. Where and how to plant frog spoons correctly, read here:

Location, bottom, water depth

These are the ideal framework conditions for naturally beautiful frog spoons:

• Sunny to semi-shady location.
• Swampy-loamy soil, rich in nutrients, humic, slightly acidic to neutral.
• Water depths: shallow water up to a maximum depth of 30 cm (lanceolate frog spoon up to 10 cm water depth).

Extra tip: Common frog's spoon (Alisma plantago-aquatica) tolerates temporary dry periods and is ideal for greening depressions with seasonal waterlogging.

planting

For the sake of simplicity, you can put frog spoons directly into the pond soil. Planting in a close-meshed lattice pot is recommended so that the rhizomes do not spread uncontrollably. The following brief instructions explain how to plant the perennials in the garden pond and stream plant properly:

1. Put on gloves to protect against the skin-irritating milky juice.
2. Fill the pond basket two-thirds full with aquatic plant substrate.
3. Pot the frog spoon from the sales pot.
4. Lay rhizomes flat on the ground.
5. Fill up further substrate up to the previous planting depth in the purchase container.
6. mulching with gravel as the top layer.
7. Observe the planting distance of 35 cm to 40 cm.

At the desired location, place the frog spoon in shallow water or in swampy soil. If the planting site is 20 cm to 30 cm below the water surface, ideally proceed in stages. First place the pond basket on a pedestal made of stones or clean bricks. In proportion to the growth of the air leaves, remove a stone until the final water depth is reached.

digression

Subtropical frog spoon greens the aquarium

Maintain frog spoons

Frogspoon is undemanding. The following tips sum up how to properly care for Alisma species.

To cut

The cutting care of frog spoons is limited to these measures:

• Clean out withered flowers before fruiting and unchecked self-sowing.
• Cut off dead leaves with the petiole at the base, remove clippings with a net.
• Cut off overly long rhizome runners or use the spade cut off
• Caution: Put on gloves before possible contact with the milky juice.

Split

Division of the rootstock serves for easy propagation and curbs the spread of the aquatic plant. The best time is in spring, once the water and soil have thawed. Expose a noticeable stolon, cut off the rhizome and plant it in the new location. Alternatively, dig up the perennial to cut the rootstock in half on a firm surface.

hibernate

Frogspoon is a hardy perennial and does not require any special protective measures. In autumn the leaves gradually wither. In this process, nutrients are transferred from the green parts of the plant to the rhizomes as an energy reserve. The bulbous rhizomes themselves are frost hardy and survive the winter even in deep-frozen pond water.

multiply

Beyond vegetative propagation, you can frogspoon through sowing multiply. The specialist trade offers certified seeds at low prices. Alternatively, let the fruit ripen on some flower stalks to remove the seeds from the capsules. Stratification overcomes the germination inhibition of cold germs. How to do it right:

1. Fill a watertight bowl with nutrient-rich mud soil.
2. Press seeds into the moist substrate.
3. Up to 1 cm high with collected rainwater fill up.
4. Set up bright and warm for 2 to 4 weeks at 22° to 25° Celsius.
5. Place in a cool place at 0° Celsius for another 4 to 6 weeks (water may freeze).

After the cold phase, the site heat is gradually increased to 20° to 22° Celsius. Young frog spoons with several leaves are strong enough for planting in the garden pond.

diseases and pests

Frog spoons are very robust. However, the perennials are not completely immune to pathogens. An infestation by black aphids can be recognized by brown spots and a sticky coating on the air leaves. Remove infested foliage to prevent the pests from spreading further.

Too little planting distance can cause smut fungus, triggered by the pathogens of a subdivision of the pillar fungi (Basidiomycota). The damage caused by the brown air leaves is reminiscent of drought stress and sunburn. In fact, aquatic plants suffer from a lack of oxygen. The easiest way to solve the problem is to divide and thin out the perennials.

Popular Varieties

The natural beauty of the pure original species cannot be improved by breeding, so there are no Alisma varieties available in specialist shops.

FAQ

Are frog spoons poisonous?

Frog spoons are among the slightly poisonous aquatic plants. The reason for the assignment is a poisonous milky sap that is contained in all parts of the plant. Direct skin contact can cause annoying itching, redness and blistering. In addition, the rhizomes contain a toxic bitter substance and pungent, essential oil. These ingredients cause nausea and vomiting when consumed intentionally or unintentionally.

Is a frog spoon in the pond hardy?

Frog spoon is certified as a reliable winter hardiness down to – 23° Celsius. After the first frost, the aquatic plant is reduced to its sprout tuber. The emersed and submerged leaves die off. The rhizomes overwinter in frozen swamps and shallow water. The following spring, the tubers sprout again with fresh leaves.

A frog's spoon is growing rampant in the garden pond. What to do?

Over the years, a frog's spoon can spread undesirably with the help of its rhizomes. The expansion can be regulated with a division. The best time is in spring, just before budding. Dig up the offending perennial. Halve the rootstock with a knife and cut off overly long rhizomes. Put a section in the close-meshed plant basket(€19.00 at Amazon*) into the swampy earth. From now on, the plant basket serves as a root barrier.

What are good plant neighbors for frog spoons?

Combine frog spoons with native marsh and aquatic plants. Highly recommended are pink swan flowers (Butomus umbellatus), yellow ones marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris) and narrow-leaved Cattails (Typha angustifolia). Also with blue-flowered brook bungee (Veronica beccabunga) and pink-flowered water knotweed (Persicaria amphibia) Frog Spoons maintain a harmonious neighborhood.