Content
- The arrowhead - a short profile
- Edible types of arrowhead
- Plant arrowhead
- Maintain arrowhead
- The essentials in brief:
- Tips
The arrowhead is a nice option for the garden pond and aquarium planting
The arrowhead - a short profile
The about 40 species of the genus arrowhead belong to the family of frog-spoon plants, as well as the related genus of frog-spoon. They are all swamp and water plants, which are also suitable for the planting of garden ponds.
Edible types of arrowhead
Some types of arrowhead produce edible tubers. Among the usable species include, for example, Sagittaria graminea and Sagittaria cuneata, but especially Sagittaria sagittifolia. In some Asian shops you get arrowhead tubers that you can cook or roast. They taste much like potatoes and can also be dried to flour.
Plant arrowhead
The subtropical species of arrowhead are especially suitable for planting in aquariums. If you are looking for a plant for your garden pond, take the common arrowhead, for example. It is native to the temperate climates and is ideal as a sub-plant for ponds.
Put the arrowhead best in plant baskets. This makes it easy to maintain the garden pond and clean it if necessary. The ideal place is 20-30 cm water depth and in the full sun. There, the tips of the arrow-shaped leaves always point north. No wonder that the arrowhead is also referred to as a compass plant.
Maintain arrowhead
The arrowhead is easy to maintain when it is in the right place. Above all, the soil should be muddy, preferably in shallow water up to 30 cm deep. The plant then retreats below the surface of the water in winter and practically hibernates as a rhizome and / or tuber.
In May, the arrowhead starts to bloom. The flowers are delicate and decorative, but quite small. Mostly, the arrowhead is therefore planted because of its impressive leaves, which are designed very differently depending on the variety. Often the name suggests the leaf shape, such as the grass-leaved arrowhead, which forms edible tubers and bears the nickname "Duck potato".
The essentials in brief:
Tips
The grass-leaved arrowhead (Sagittaria graminea) carries the nickname "Duck potato" because of its edible tubers. It is also cultivated here as a pond plant.