Powdery Alligator Flag
Thalia dealbata
Other Common Names: Hardy Water Canna, Powdery Thalia
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 6a-11 Find Your Zone
Plant Type: Native Wetland Perennial, Aquatic Plant
Height or Length at Maturity: 6-10’ in flower
Width at Maturity: 3-6’
Spacing:
Spacing:
Growth Habit / Form: Upright Spreading Clump
Growth Rate: Fast
Flower Color: Lavender-Purple to Violet
Flower Type: Single in panicles
Flower Size: 8″ clusters
Flowering Period: Summer
Flowering Period: Summer
Fragrant Flowers: na
Foliage Color: Blue-Green
Fragrant Foliage: –
Berries: Brown
Sun Needs: Full to Mostly Sun Sun, minimum 7 hours of sunlight for best flowering
Water Needs: Average, High
Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sand, Silt
Soil Drainage: Constantly Moist to Wet; will grow in shallow water
Soil pH: 5.0 – 8.0
Maintenance / Care: Average
Attracts: Butterflies, Beneficial Pollinators, Hummingbirds, Visual attention
Resistances: Wet Soil, Deer, Disease, Heat, Humidity, Insect, Rabbits
Description
An eye-catching addition to a water garden or bog garden, Thalia dealbata, commonly called Powdery Alligator Flag, is a marsh or aquatic perennial that loves life on the wet side. It features a 3 to 4 feet high clump of large, paddle-shaped, canna-like blue-green leaves to 18 inches long from which rise numerous long and arching flower stems to 6 feet high bearing panicles of some of the most unusual but pretty lavender-purple flowers in summer. The foliage looks like it’s been is dusted with white powder, hence the common name. Though its a North American Native hardy in USDA Zones 6-11 you’d swear its origin was the tropics. It really adds a tropical flair to water gardens or in those sunny areas of the landscape where the soil never dries out.
A regionally hardy plant native to the wetlands of the southern United States, it can endure mild winters, but roots must be submerged deep enough not to freeze. For use in your water garden, plant in a one or two gallon size container and submerge the pot 2 to 6 inches below the pond water surface during the growing season. In USDA Zones 6-8 it’s best to submerge plants in 18 to 24 inches of water during the winter months.
Landscape & Garden Uses
Growing 6 to 10 feet tall in flower and spreading 3 to 6 feet, or to the size of your container, the Powdery Alligator Flag id ideal for use in ponds and water garden or bogs and swampy areas of the landscape where the soil stays consistently moist to wet. It looks great and is most at home growing in edge of ponds, small lakes and stream banks and also around rocks and boulders around the garden pond. It is perfect for growing in containers that can be submerged in the edge of the garden pond. A fine addition to bog gardens, aquatic gardens, butterfly and hummingbird gardens, native plant gardens, purple theme gardens and tropical look gardens.
Suggested Spacing: 3 feet for grouping or mass planting
Growing Preferences
Powdery Alligator Flag is easy to grow in most any consistently moist to wet soil and full to mostly sun. We suggest a minimum 7 hours of direct sunlight per day. Best in organically rich loams. Plants are considered winter hardy to USDA Zones 6-10. In Zones 6 to 8 plants are best grown in containers either sunk in wet mud near the water line or submerged 2 to 6 inches under the water surface during the growing season and 18 to 24 inches during winter. Plants may also be grown in wet boggy areas. In colder climates consider bringing container grown plants indoors to a greenhouse or other frost-free area with bright light. For plants grown in wet boggy soils, cut back tops and mulch heavily in winter.
Helpful Tips
Click on the link below for helpful tips on planting aquatic plants…
How To Plant Aquatic Plants in the Garden Pond
Plant Long & Prosper!
Questions? Contact Us!
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