- Approximate height: 30cm (12 inches)
- Recommended water depth over crown of plant: 0 - 7½ cm (0 - 3 inches)
- Flowering time: March to April
- Flower colour: Yellow
- Supplied in the solid 9cm pot we grow them in - for best results we recommend potting on using a 1 - 2 litre pot
Our much-loved native marsh marigold, known by many other names as well, such as kingcup and cow lily. It produces large yellow buttercup-like flowers in early spring and the typical Caltha shiny green heart-shaped leaves. It is one of the first plants to flower each spring, and then will often re-grow and flower again in autumn if cut back hard in summer.
Caltha palustris is unusual among flowering pond plants in that it will tolerate partial shade (shade for half the day or more) without problems. One of its natural habitats is wet woodland, where it will flower before the leaves are on the trees, and then die back for summer as the tree canopy grows over and deep shade ensues. This habit makes it useful for shadier sites and also useful for giving early colour - a Caltha is essential for brightening up the edge of the pond early in the year.
If designing a planting scheme, we recommend approximately 2 Caltha palustris plants per square foot of ground, or 1 plant per linear foot of pond edge. Read more here on how to pot and care for your plant.