Golden Acre Home & Garden Centre's Plant Library

Other Names:  Duck Potato

Description:

This native wetland plant features upright, arrowhead shaped green leaves; spreads by tuberous runners into a large colony; racemes of white flowers in summer; an excellent pond or container plant

Ornamental Features

Broadleaf Arrowhead features dainty racemes of white flowers rising above the foliage from early to late summer. Its attractive textured pointy leaves remain green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Broadleaf Arrowhead is an herbaceous annual with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Broadleaf Arrowhead is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Water Gardens
• Container Planting
• Bog Gardens

Planting & Growing

Broadleaf Arrowhead will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity extending to 3 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 4 feet. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in moist to wet soil, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America. It can be propagated by division.

Broadleaf Arrowhead is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.