1. 1/6/2013
Out of the Wilds and Into Your Garden
Pools, Ponds and
Streams
C.M. Vadheim and T. Drake
CSUDH & Madrona Marsh Preserve
Gardening with Western L.A. County Native Plants Madrona Marsh Preserve
Project SOUND - 2010 June 5 & 8, 2010
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND
S. California has many different kinds of Local wetlands – what do they look like?
wet places
 Estuarine—marsh*
 Western L.A./Orange County
 Estuarine—mudflat (lowlands)
 Estuarine—open water  Wetlands associated with
 Estuarine—submerged aquatic vegetation depressions
 Vernal pools & swales (always seasonal)
 Vernal pools (Madrona Marsh)
 Depressional wetlands except vernal pools &
swales—marsh and unvegetated flats* Madrona Marsh – seasonal marsh  Freshwater marshes - vernal or
 Depressional wetlands except vernal pools & year-round (Madrona Marsh)
swales—open water*
 Seeps and springs wetlands*
 Playas—marsh*  Wetlands associated with
 Playas—open water* moving water
 Lakes—marsh  Year-round streams (San
 Lakes—open water Gabriel & Santa Ana Rivers)
 Streams and rivers—channel*  Seasonal streams (Gardena
 Streams and rivers—riparian habitat* Willows Preserve)
Gardena Willows – seasonal stream
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2. 1/6/2013
Local wetlands – a little farther away –and a
Two key elements that determine plant
bit more topography
life in freshwater systems
 Local Mountains  Is the water still or
(Santa Monica & San moving?
Gabriel Mtns.)
 Is the water year-round
E. Fork, San Gabriel River
 Seeps & wet meadows or seasonal?
 Ponds & lakes http://walkingboots.wordpress.com/
 Year-round creeks,
These two elements will
streams & rivers also determine the types
of pond/pool/creek side
plants appropriate for your
garden
Malibu Creek
What do you have in mind? Types of Perhaps you’ve fallen in love with the Madrona Marsh…
water features in home gardens
 Seasonally wet places (rain
garden; vernal swale)
 Moist ground year-round
(splash zones around fountains
or irrigation)
 Wet soil year-round (wet
meadow/bog garden)
 Ponds/pools/puddles (standing
water year-round)
 Streams/creeks (running
water at least part of the
http://greenlifeinsocal.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/my-veggie- year) – may be natural or
constructed
garden-in-january/
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3. 1/6/2013
…and want to have a little bit of the marsh Three water habitats in garden ponds/pools
in your backyard
http://www.finegardening.com/design/articles/a-garden-set-in-stone.aspx
Some ponds have just 2 of the habitats
http://www.mabaquascapes.co.uk/portfolio.htm
 Habitat 1 – shallow water (less than 1-2 ft)
 Habitat 2 – pond edge – very shallow water/ muddy soils
 Habitat 3 – upper bank
http://back40feet.blogspot.com/2009/01/winter-in-blake-garden.html
You can create a mini-pond in your Madrona Marsh provides excellent examples
garden…complete with pond plants of local pond/marsh plants
 Any water-tight container will do: a
watertight half wine barrel; large ceramic
pots or bowls ; galvanized tubs or horse
troughs, etc.
 Use ceramic or terra cotta pots set upon
bricks or cinderblocks, adjusting them to
the level of the top edge of the pond
container.
 Depending upon the size of your container,
you can select about three to five plants
http://www.penick.net/digging/index.php?s=wildflower+center for your little "pond".
 Be sure you deal with mosquito larva –
mosquito fish or chemical means "mosquito
dunk"
 Relocating a water garden is a challenge.
It's best to begin in the right location: in
the sun and away from trees and plants
dropping debris. Tules dominate the wettest parts of the marsh
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4. 1/6/2013
Tules – Schoenoplectus (formerly Scirpus) The trouble with Tules …
Six local species:
 They are large – to 8 ft. tall
 Schoenoplectus acutus – Tule
 They are active spreaders
 Schoenoplectus americanus – Chairmaker’s
Bullrush  They are tough
 Schoenoplectus californicus – CA Tule
 They require active
management
 Schoenoplectus pungens var. badius -  They can take over a garden
Common Threesquare
pond
 Schoenoplectus robustus – Sturdy
Bullrush
 Scirpus microcarpus – Small-fruited
Bullrush
Note: the terms Tule and Bullrush are used
interchangeably
Southern Cattail – Typha domingensis
Southern Cattail – Typha domingensis
 Warm temperate and tropical
areas, worldwide
 In CA - most areas, with
proper conditions
 Almost anywhere soil remains
wet, saturated, or flooded
most of the growing season,
including : wet meadows,
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=222000445
marshes, fens, pond and lake
margins, floating bog mats,
seacoast estuaries, roadside
ditches, irrigation canals,
oxbow lakes, and backwater
areas of rivers and streams.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Typhadomingensis.jpg
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?9383,9390,9392
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5. 1/6/2013
Genus Typha – the Cattails Characteristics of Southern Cattail
 Members of the cattail family (family  Size:
Typhaceae); the only genus in the  3-6+ ft tall
family.
 spreading – many ft wide
 Aquatic or marsh herbs with creeping
rootstocks, long, narrow leaves  Growth form:
 Like a very large sedge; upright
 Tiny flowers crowded in terminal
spikes, with the male (staminate) ones  Foliage:
Typha latifolia
at the top and female (pistillate) below.  Long, strap-like leaves
 ~ 18 species all occur in temperate and  Leaf width ( ~ ½ inch) between
tropical regions. that of Broad- and Narrowleaf
Cattails
 Local species:
 Typha latifolia – Broadleaf Cattail  Roots:
 Typha dominguensis – Southern Cattail  Rhizomes stout, to 27" in length
 ?Typha angustifolia – Narrowleaf Cattail and typically ¾"-1½" in diameter
(definitely from San Gabriel Mtns)  Can be eaten raw, cooked or
dried and made into flour
Typha angustifolia http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/where/ponds/p/ap/guide/emergent/typhaa.cfm http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/aquatics/typhaan.html © Project SOUND
Distinguished from the
closely related Common
Flowers are unusual
Cattail (Typha latifolia) by:  Blooms: Late spring/summer - usually
May-July
 narrower, deeper  Flowers: Typical for Cattails
green leaves on a less  Flower structure a dense, fuzzy,
robust plant cylindrical spike on the end of stem
 fruiting spikes  A distinct gap of 1"-3" of naked
showing clear stem between the upper, male
separation between portion (staminate) and the lower,
the male and female female (pistillate) portion.
sections - staminate
above the pistillate  Male flowers lighter brown; female
flowers often green during bloom
 leaves typically turning dark brown during seed
extending beyond the maturation.
spike.
 Seeds: fluffy, small – typical Cattail;
wind-distributed
http://www.opsu.edu/Academics/SciMathNurs/NaturalScience/PlantsInsect
sOfGoodwell/plants/pasturefiles/pasture119.html
http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3281 © Project SOUND © Project SOUND
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6. 1/6/2013
Many uses of cattails and tules Cattails like water…  Soils:
 Texture: any
 Roots & young stalk – eaten  pH: any local including quite
as food; used as diuretic acidic (to pH 3.0)
 Young female flowers – eaten  Light: full sun
raw or cooked like corn on
the cob  Water:
 Winter: flooded
 Pollen – eaten raw or cooked;
often added to flour to  Summer: Tolerates continuous
increase nutrition inundation, seasonal draw-downs,
and brackish waters. Can grow in
 Seeds – used to stuff pillows water to 24" deep. Great for
boggy pond margins
 Leaves:
 Medicinal: diuretic and  Fertilizer: light fertilizer
haemostatic (stops bleeding
 For constructing shelters,  Other: Less water = less invasive
hats, mats, etc.
http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/science/Evolutionary_Ecology_Research/Ecology_of_Cumbe
rland_Plain_Woodland/woodland_plants/typha_domingensis
http://practicalsurvivor.com/wildedibleplants © Project SOUND
Cattails – not for every
What makes water plants so invasive?
garden/gardener
 Interesting container plant – can  Fast-growing when
control spread and conditions conditions are optimal
 In seasonally wet areas – rain
(water; temp.; pH,
gardens, vernal swales nutrients)
 Around/in ponds & pools  Most expand through an
extensive rhizome system
 Bank stabilization around ponds, which is responsible for the
streams, rivers. maintenance and expansion
of existing stands.
 Most will also reseed – if
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1248/702390298_0a32a0a4cd.jpg
conditions are right
http://brg.cma.nsw.gov.au/uploads/images/ih_CumbungiBoomi.jpg
http://homepage3.nifty.com/plantsandjapan/img698.gif © Project SOUND
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7. 1/6/2013
Why the need for vegetative propagation Managing cattails/rushes/etc. in the garden
in wetland species? setting
 Many not suitable for
growing in small areas
 Conditions are not always – choose appropriate
optimal – needs to be able species
to maximize growth in  Fast-spreading species
optimal times need to be managed
yearly or will take
 Seed reproduction is iffy – over:
small seeds must quickly  Cut back stems in
germinate on moist soil, dormant season
 Remove ½ to 2/3 of
which often doesn’t occur mass
 Disturbance – plays a key  Replant
role in both removing and
http://www.jardin-mundani.org/typhaceae/typha.jpg
 Best contained in
In the absence of disturbance, cattail disbursing wetland plants large, strong,
dominates marshes in dense, single- bottomless container.
species stands, out-competing other
species. http://www.westcarlston.com/aquatics_Plants_Lists.htm © Project SOUND
In garden ponds, you must be the ‘disturbance’ Smaller choices for habitat 1(shallow
water) & 2 (pond edge) areas
 Scouring Rushes - Equisetum
 Spikerushes – Eleocharis species
 Some rushes – Juncus species
 Some sedges – Carex species
 Flat-sedges – Cyperus species
 Fiber-optic grass - Isolepis
(Scirpus) cernuus
© Project SOUND
http://greenlifeinsocal.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/my-veggie-garden-in-january/
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8. 1/6/2013
Giant Scouring Rush – Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine Equisetums are well suited to moist
container gardening
 Soils:
 Texture: any from sandy
or gravelly muds to clays
 pH: any – prefers 6.5 to
7.5
 Light: full sun to shady
 Water:
 can tolerate prolonged wet
conditions, but should not
be totally submerged nor
allowed to dry out
 Best in cool moist soils or
pots submerged up to 4”
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio406d/images/pics/equ/equisetum_hyemale.htm
http://www.vanbloem.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/PLANTS.plantDetail/plant_id/363/index.htm
Pale Spikerush – Common Spikerush –
Pale Spikerush – Eleocharis macrostachya Eleocharis macrostachya Eleocharis palustris
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=9080&flora_id=1
=1&taxon_id=242101136
 Jepson treats them as one species –
but there are some slight
morphologic differences
 Classification is currently undergoing
revisions
 Challenge – widely disbursed world-
wide (as are many wetland species
http://www.joesnowaquaticplants.com/plant%20list%20with%20links.htm
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Eleocharis+macrostachya
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9. 1/6/2013
Spikerushes grow at the edges of ponds or in
vernal wetlands – seeds germinate under water Eleocharis (Spike Rushes) in the wild
 Seeds can germinate under water
 Do best with fluctuating water levels
in streams, vernal ponds/pools – can
even grow in ponds (or aquariums)
 Short, delicate stems - bright green
color in spring/early summer
 Form large meadows in vernal pools
 Have great little flower spikes that
tower above the leaves
 Attractive to bees when flowering
 Attractive stems even when dry –
looks like a silvery-brown meadow
http://www.cnps.org/programs/vegetation/Table_Mountain/images/16_Eleocharis-Sagittaria-Paspalum_JT.jpg
Eleocharis Spike Rushes in the garden Juncus, Carex and water-tolerant perennials are
 Rain gardens and vernal
useful for spanning Wetland Habitats 2 & 3
swales
 On the edges of
ponds/pools
 In pots in freshwater
pools
 As a “natural lawn” –
needs water to stay
http://www.greenthumbinternational.com/ponds/images/Eleocharis_m
ontevidensis_jpg.jpg green, but needs no
mowing
 Good for erosion control
 Good habitat - birds eat
the seeds
http://www.csupomona.edu/~biotrek/tour/tour03.html
Spike rushes need more water  Improves useable soil
than many rushes & other sedges nitrogen
http://www.finegardening.com/design/articles/a-garden-set-in-stone.aspx
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10. 1/6/2013
Juncaceae: Rushes (Wire-grasses) Blue Rush: adaptable to a
wide range of water
 Characteristics: stiff narrow stems schedules
with tiny flower clusters at tips or on
side of stem
 Seasonal flooding in winter
 “Rushes are rounded but sedges have
edges”  Prefers moist summer soil
but will take:
 Juncus – large genus with > 200 annual
and perennial species  Growing in water in a pond
(grow in a pot)
 Rushes form an extremely important
component of wetlands, rivers and  Regular watering
estuaries  Occasional (every few weeks)
watering
 Rushes reproduce by seed, but many
species set little viable seed; form  No added water – and still
large clonal colonies through looks greenish
http://www.biology.iastate.edu/Courses/Bot364%20Aquatic%20B
underground spread of rhizomes.
otany/Genera/Juncus/Juncus-line.GIF http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/spreadingrush.html
Some local rushes – and there are others Juncus in  Accent plant in/around pools
 Planted among stones
Baltic Rush Common/Blue Iris-leaved Leopold’s Rush Mexican Rush the garden
Rush Rush  As a container plant
 Erosion control – along streams
 In moist areas in general – bio-
swales, wet areas in lawns
 Good nesting, hiding cover for birds
http://www.paradiseenvironments.com/images/New/POND
S-GRIFFITH%20JUNCUS.JPG
http://www.cjb.unige.ch/BotSyst/APG2/Commelinid/100_JUN_13.jpg
http://plants.montara.com/ListPages/FamP
ages/Junca1.html
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11. 1/6/2013
Uses for Carex species in Water Smartweed – Polygonum hydropiperoides
the garden
 In vernal swales
http://www.alamedacreek.org/Join%20-
%20Volunteer/FOTA/GNG%20plants.pdf
 In rain gardens
Carex tumulicola  Along banks of ponds and
natural pools
 In full sun or in shade under
trees
 In watered rock gardens
 As an ornamental “grass”
http://www.smgrowers.com/imagedb/Carex_spissa.jpg
Carex spissa http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/where/ponds/p/ap/guide/emergent/polygonumh.cfm
© Project SOUND
Water Smartweed – Polygonum hydropiperoides Smartweed is different… but kind of interesting
 Size:
 Much of N. America  2-4 ft tall
 3-4+ ft wide, spreading
 Locally – Madrona Marsh &
other local wetlands  Growth form:
 Shallow water along the  Herbaceous perennial
margins of lakes, ponds, and  Many erect to leaning stems –
streams clump-forming
http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=92773&flora_id=1
 Smartweeds are members of  Dies back in winter – nice fall color
the buckwheat family (family
 Foliage:
Polygonaceae).
 Long narrow leaves
 Stems commonly have swollen  Young leaves and be eaten – also
nodes. (The family name refers important as an antiseptic medicine
to this, deriving from Greek
words meaning many knees.)  Roots:
 Rhizomes; stems also root where
they touch the ground
http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/where/ponds/p/ap/guide/emergent/polygonum
© Project SOUND h.cfm © Project SOUND
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?5936,6248,6270
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12. 1/6/2013
Flowers are showy Plant Requirements  Soils:
 Texture: any
 pH: any local, acidic to alkali
 Blooms:
 Summer into fall  Light:
 Usually July & Aug or later –  Full sun to part-shade (good in
depends on available water filtered shade under trees)
 Water:
 Flowers:  Winter: takes winter flooding
 Clustered on slender  Summer: wet to moist; can
flowering stems grow in shallow water, but also
 Many small pink-white in seasonally dry areas
flowers –old-fashioned look
 Fertilizer: leaf mulch; ok with
light fertilizer
 Seeds:
 Small, dark brown/black  Other: may need to be replaced
 Food for many birds – when starts looking raggedy –
waterfowl & songbirds every 3-4 years
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND
http://www.backyardnature.net/n/h/swamp-sm.htm
Steve Hurst @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
Garden uses for
Container gardens allow us to create the
Smartweed
conditions needed by selected plants
 As a pond plant – in
shallow water; can grow
in pot in a pond
 As a pond-side plant
 As an attractive pot
http://www.backyardnature.net/n/h/swamp-sm.htm plant – good for
wet/bog containers
 Other moist areas of
the garden
© Project SOUND
http://bhushandalvi.wordpress.com/tag/polygonum-hydropiperoides/
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13. 1/6/2013
Garden uses for
Yerba Mansa – Anemopsis californica
Yerba Mansa
 As an attractive pot plant,
particularly for mini ‘bog
gardens’
 In containers placed in the
ground
 Around ponds
 In water gardens
 As a turf substitute or ground
cover
 Under birdbath or other moist
http://www.mswn.com/Plant%20Info%20Sheets/Anemopsis%20californica.pdf areas of garden
Musk Monkeyflower – Mimulus moschatus Cardinal Flower: a garden perennial
 Size:
 2-6 (usually 2-4) ft tall
 2-3 ft wide
 Growth form:
 Herbaceous perennial; winter
dormant
 Upright growth
 Short-lived but re-seeds well
 Foliage:
 Leaves: most basal, alternate
 Light to deep green; often
with bronze tinge
J.S. Peterson @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LOCA2
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14. 1/6/2013
Cardinal Flower is a Yellow-eyed Grass – Sisyrinchium californicum
great Zone 3 plant…
 Great candidate as a container
plant; bog garden plant
 Moist meadow, rain garden,
anywhere that gets a little
extra water
 Flowers make nice cut flowers
 Fine at back of conventional
(regularly watered) beds
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LOCA2
http://www.soquelnursery.com/perennials_Santolina_Sutera.html
Yellow-eyed Grass – Sisyrinchium californicum Yellow-eyed Grass – like Blue-eyed Grass
 Pacific coast from central  Size:
California to s. British  1-2 ft tall
Columbia -  1-2 ft wide, spreading
 Primarily in moist-wet  Growth form:
peripheries of ponds,  Herbaceous perennial from
bogs, marshes, lakeshores, rhizomes (like Iris)
moist grasslands and
other moist sites near the  Foliage:
coast  Grass-like (or mini-Iris-like)
http://www.efloras.org/fl
orataxon.aspx?flora_id=
leaves
1&taxon_id=242101895
 Genus Sisyrinchium  Pale to blue-green; dry to black
 In the iris family, Iridaceae.
 Roots:
 Between 70 to 150 species,
 rhizomes
all native to the New World.
Gerald and Buff Corsi © California Academy of Sciences
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?8185,8222,8224
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15. 1/6/2013
Flowers are lovely Likes a drink in spring  Soils:
 Texture: any – sand to clay
 Blooms:  pH: any local
 Spring/summer usually Apr-  Light:
June in our area
 Full sun best; will tolerate light
 Long bloom season with good shade
water
 Water:
 Flowers:
Charles Webber © California Academy of Sciences
 Winter: adequate moisture
 Like Blue-eyed Grass –
 Summer: moist to wet conditions in
except bright, cheery yellow
spring - somewhat drier conditions
http://www.anniesannuals.com/signs/s/sisyrinchium_californicum_yeg.htm
 Delicate, star-like - on stem in midsummer through winter.
above the foliage Needs dormant period
© 2007  Open in morning; close by
Ron Wolf
midday  Fertilizer: not picky; poor to medium-
rich soils
 Seeds:
 Pod is 3-chambers – like Iris  Other:
 Small, angular dark seeds  Divide every 3rd year
 Re-seeds well; deadhead to prevent
© 2001 Tony Morosco
http://www.geoffhandley.com/Gardening/flowergallery/siscalifornicum.jpg
So now we’re feeling confident about But maybe you really wanted more of a
planting a small garden pool…. streamside look…
http://www.wiseacre-gardens.com/pond/pond_matt2.jpg
http://www.calflora.net/wildplaces/index.html
Malibu Creek - Santa Monica Mountains
© Project SOUND
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16. 1/6/2013
There’s something special about a *California Boxelder – Acer negundo var. californicum
lowland riparian woodland…
http://trees.stanford.edu/ENCYC/ACERneg.htm
© Project SOUND
*California Boxelder – Acer negundo var. californicum *California Boxelder – Acer negundo var. californicum
http://na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/acer/negundo.htm
 Species: moist areas of
U.S… including much of
east
 var. californicum: CA
Floristic Province (W of
Sierras) from OR to Baja
 Locally in Santa Monica &
San Gabriel Mtns
 Introducing into nursery
trade by Theodore Payne
 Species widely planted as
a street tree
Several nice specimens at the Gardena Willows Wetland©Preserve
Project SOUND
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?256,257,0,264
© Project SOUND
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