Frog-bit

[agrumpycow]

Popped out to the garden centre earlier today and bought a water soldier plant and 2 frog-bit plants for the pond.
Obviously the frog-bit are small at the moment (3 leaves each). I was just wondering how fast the rate of growth was and how big they are likely to get?

[metalfish]

ooh I hope you have a big pond. Frogbit doesn't get that big individually but they don't half multiply (saying that I do like them). Water soldier does the same and individual plants get to a fair size, about 1 foot across and do like to take over.
On the positive side though both plants are really easy to clear out and they'll take a year or three to get too rampant. Water snails love water soldiers for laying eggs on, I don't know if this is coz the plant is spiny or just because it dangles in the water.
Frogbit popping to the water surface in spring is a lovely thing too, I think it's dependant on water temperature so you know that pond life is about to get into the swing of things when you see it coming up

[dampflippers]

Frogbit is lovely, and very pretty. It has a tiny white flower, and as already said, it will multiply.
It's much easier to manage than duckweed or the horrendous azolla. I've never had to thin it out.

[Hedge Witch]

Just a word of warning. It refuses to grow well in some ponds. I think it depends on the mineral content of the pond water.

[agrumpycow]

Thanks for the replies guys. I bought it because it was native but I'm surprised the plant labels don't give info like your usual garden plants.
I've never heard of some plants growing differently because of different mineral content; I have to wait to see how it grows then