Plant of the Week:American Bur Reed (Sparganium americanum)

This is a native wetland plant that has some of the plant submerged under the water and can reach 2' tall.  It is however an excellent candidate for landscaping in a pond or water garden and for areas around the yard that are saturated with water.  It is an excellent cut or dried flower and is not a preferred deer forage.  In ponds it can form large mats and when it flowers in the spring it can be quite showy, especially when planted aside pickerel rush.  This plant resembles a sedge or grass like plant and in cross section the leaves appear triangular with a sharp keel (rise) in the mid-rib of the leaf.  The flowers appear in a cluster as white fuzzy roundish balls with bright yellow stamens.  The seed pods are equally as interesting and turn a brownish color in the fall. If planting in saturated soil, good companion plants would include pickerel reed, Virginia blue flag, copper, or zig zag irises and then the fruits would stand out in a grouping of cardinal flower and great blue lobelia.  It typically flowers in May to early June and has an extended blooming period hence it is a great water garden plant that can fill in with color and texture before the hot summer sun water lilies, lotus, and others species show off.