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Marsh Marigold (Caltha Palustris) - advice

Rob LockwoodRob Lockwood Posts: 347
edited April 2021 in Plants
Hi all - this is a lovely cheery plant for this time of year but I've struggled to keep it alive / flourishing in my pond - any advice for propagation so I can hedge my bets?  The 2 I originally had were in large baskets on a 20-30cm shelf in my pond.

Posts

  • WilderbeastWilderbeast Posts: 1,413
    Hi @Rob Lockwood I don't know about propagation but I think you may have it in too deep water. 2-4" of water above the top of the pot is about right, it doesn't like really deep water. Mine has done really well and currently in full bloom and depending on the weather it is either just submerged or just exposed on the crown 
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,404
    They like moist soil, but they are not pond plants. They grow wild here and seed themselves into damp corners and grow en masse, along with a lot of other wild plants, in our boggy  wilderness, which is part of our garden but left entirely to its own devices as it is too wet to walk on :)

  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Yes, they are marginals and will seed all over when happy. Try raising the container or planting out in boggy soil. They don't even need to be in water and will grow happily in the wet beside a stream or pond. Lovely things.
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 883
    Ours grew happily right in the pond, but always looked pretty dreadful with mildew by midsummer. Having read up this is apparently quite normal and the advice is to chop it right back as soon as the leaves start to go and allow fresh leaves to emerge.

    We divided ours when re redid the pond. Just chopped it into pieces and put them straight into the pond with no baskets. They did very well. If yours are quite small, I would divide but pot up the smaller pieces, they should be fine. 
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • Rob LockwoodRob Lockwood Posts: 347
    Thanks all - I'm intrigued by this "not a pond plant" thing - always thought it was.  I'll put a picture of mine up tmrw with more comments!
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Well, it IS a pond plant, but while some need to be standing in deep water, some just like a puddle or a bog. Marsh marigold  - name's on the tin!
  • Rob LockwoodRob Lockwood Posts: 347
    edited May 2021
    A slight reprise on this then - here's the current state of affairs in marsh marigold land though they're doing better this year than most. You can probably see the bigger one's it's in quite a bit pot and I'd think it's sitting in about an inch or so of water.  I'd assumed that their varying performance (and sometimes death / disappearance) was that the water level wasn't deep enough (as it "isn't deep enough" now), but I think from the comments above that the problem's more likely to be that it's drying out, with 2/3rd of the rootball currently sitting above soil/water level?  The pond level varies a hell of a lot.

  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,172
    Whilst agreeing with all said we have them IN THE POND and not on the out sides.
    They thrive every year and are now in flower and have been for many weeks.
    What can be good for one pond area maybe not good for another.
    You just have to give it a go and try to see what works.
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