Marsh marigold: normal summer die-back or something more?

[BKHpondcritters]

lol I have no quilt, they either live or they die.....................

Exactly! I gave up the guilt LONG ago! lol!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

My poor marsh marigold is really not looking great, less leaves than when I bought it and it looks less happy every day.
View attachment 131604

It's impossible for me to say for sure if there's something wrong or not, but my Marsh Marigolds always look bad in summer because it's a cool season plant.



As far as the amount of sunlight, mine is in full sun, but I also see them in the wild in full shade and everything in between. They don't seem to be too picky in terms of lighting. The only other thing I'd say is that you have yours next to a waterfall. Might be possible that the leaves are staying wet, which is causing them to die.

 

[AlyssaFish]

Mine is in the same boat as yours. I live in Utah, and it's been pretty solidly in the 80 and 90 degree range for weeks now, and is only going to get hotter. Forcasted to hit 100 on Friday.

One thing that you might want to consider is that on a baby plant, it's usually best to avoid getting the leaves constantly wet. All the marsh marigold leaves I've seen droop into the water on a young plant tend to rot away. Yours looks like it's pretty close to a constant source of splashing, and that might not be ideal for it until it's a little bigger and established.

But that's just an idea. Based off how mine's doing, I think the heat is plenty enough reason for it to be dying back!

 

[Tula]

We went out to raise the gravel in the bog and I can't even find my marsh marigold Wonder if I should just be patient and see if it comes back next year, or order another one before Fall?

 

[TheFishGuy]

We went out to raise the gravel in the bog and I can't even find my marsh marigold Wonder if I should just be patient and see if it comes back next year, or order another one before Fall?

awww, I hope it comes back in the fall, but if not I would say whats the big deal out of having a second one! so you could just order one now or wait to order until the fall

 

[poconojoe]

One thing that you might want to consider is that on a baby plant, it's usually best to avoid getting the leaves constantly wet. All the marsh marigold leaves I've seen droop into the water on a young plant tend to rot away. Yours looks like it's pretty close to a constant source of splashing, and that might not be ideal for it until it's a little bigger and established.

But that's just an idea. Based off how mine's doing, I think the heat is plenty enough reason for it to be dying back!

You might have a good point there. Mine is doing great and always has done so, but I do notice that when branches fall into the water, the leaf does rot. I always thought it had died off then fell in the water. Maybe it's the other way around?

 

[AlyssaFish]

You might have a good point there. Mine is doing great and always has done so, but I do notice that when branches fall into the water, the leaf does rot. I always thought it had died off then fell in the water. Maybe it's the other way around?

Most likely both!

 

[Lisak1]

Ours dies back every summer when it gets too hot. It's native to our area and I've seen it in natural ponds do the exact same thing. It revives a bit in fall and then in spring comes back bigger and better!

 

[Mmathis]

Ours dies back every summer when it gets too hot. It's native to our area and I've seen it in natural ponds do the exact same thing. It revives a bit in fall and then in spring comes back bigger and better!

Mine never came back, but I was taking that chance when I planted them. I will try them again, whenever we have a new pond/bog up and running.

 

[Phaewryn]

The only other thing I'd say is that you have yours next to a waterfall. Might be possible that the leaves are staying wet, which is causing them to die.

The leaves do stay wet because the waterfall does splash a little. I wonder if I could just raise it up out of the water more (it would get less splash and more sun). How much of the roots need to be below the water line?

 

[Phaewryn]

One thing that you might want to consider is that on a baby plant, it's usually best to avoid getting the leaves constantly wet. All the marsh marigold leaves I've seen droop into the water on a young plant tend to rot away. Yours looks like it's pretty close to a constant source of splashing, and that might not be ideal for it until it's a little bigger and established.

Yes, the leaves are often quite wet. I think it is getting splashed more than I had hoped.

 

[Phaewryn]

OK, so today I carefully documented the sun in that spot and it's even less than I thought (only about 2 hours of full sun)! I know it says it will grow in shade, but I'm wondering if there isn't something that will like this level of shade and dampness more than this plant?

Here is the total sun this location gets. Before 2:00PM, it is all full shade as it's under trees and the sun rises behind the hill, so there is no morning sun at all (because it is behind the hill and then behind the house), and almost no filtered late morning/early afternoon sun since the trees are extremely dense as you can see (once it's out from behind the house).
These pics start at 2:30PM, when the sun is just starting to creep into the area as it comes around the house:

2:45PM:

3:00PM:

3:15PM:

3:30PM:

4:00PM (from here it gets full sun):

4:30PM:

5:15PM:

6:00PM:

6:30PM (sometime between 6:15-6:30, the shade from across the street comes into play as the sun sets behind the trees):

6:45PM (by 6:45, there is only very filtered sun):

(...continued, hit upload limit...)

 

[Phaewryn]

6:45PM:

7:00PM (from here there isn't much sun because it is very filtered and low):

7:15PM:

7:30PM:

The trees behind:

The trees above:

The trees across the way that make no sun after 6:15PMish:

 

[AlyssaFish]

Here's a list of the plants I've had that have done well in running water and I checked to make sure they'd do well in shade.

• Aquatic Forget Me Not: Very splash and shad tolerant! When you first plant it, try to keep the leaves from drooping into the water. As the plant grows, it will naturally adapt to having leaves that fall in the water and they will be fine, but when you first purchase it from a nursery all the leaves will be used to being exposed to air.
• Water Clover: I've had great success growing this in my streambed. It can grow quite tall to get out of the way of the splashing and to chase patches of light.
• Parrots Feather: Take care with this plant. Considered highly invasive. Very soft leaves!
• Other emergent plants that grow leaves underwater (just check for light requirements)
• Water Celery: Be patient. May appear to die back a lot before beginning to grow. Develops root systems and sends out underground runners).
• Marsh Buttercup: Absolutely gorgeous in a waterfall. Last year mine sent out runners that went over the edge of the fountain tiers. Beautiful variegated foliage as well.
• Pennywort: Another one to take care with. I've never had a problem with it, but it is also considered invasive and can apparently naturalize into your yard. I wouldn't mind that myself, but that's just me. This plant will always have a place in my heart for being a fast grower that sent runners right out of the pot!

I've also had good success with my marsh marigold in splashing water--just not when I first purchased it.

And just to show how much I'm guessing at all of this, I literally moved my young marsh marigold into the splash zone of my fountain pond just yesterday! It had been in a very warm, sunny pond with very slow moving water prior to this discussion, and I decided my fountain pond (which is always a good 10-15 degrees cooler) might encourage better growth if the plant prefers cooler temperatures! Unfortunately, due to the fountain pond's constructions, there is no splash free area there!

So I may have consigned my little plant to death right after telling you about how the splashing might be causing problems! Hooray!

 

[Phaewryn]

Here's a list of the plants I've had that have done well in running water and I checked to make sure they'd do well in shade.

• Aquatic Forget Me Not: Very splash and shad tolerant! When you first plant it, try to keep the leaves from drooping into the water. As the plant grows, it will naturally adapt to having leaves that fall in the water and they will be fine, but when you first purchase it from a nursery all the leaves will be used to being exposed to air.

I'm on the water forget-me-not! Here's my seedlings:

I'm not sure how big I need to let them get before transplanting them outdoors to the pond? They are prohibited in all the states around me but not here for some reason (thankfully, because finding plants that will work for my needs is not easy).

• Water Clover

Marsilea quadrifolia (water clover) is considered an invasive in my state. Not sure if I could get away with Marsilea minuta or Marsilea mutica. Those appear to only be invasive in southern states, so should be OK here (they likely are annuals here).

• Parrots Feather

An illegal invasive in my state: https://dec.vermont.gov/watershed/lakes-ponds/aquatic-invasives/gallery
[/QUOTE]

• Other emergent plants that grow leaves underwater (just check for light requirements)
• Water Celery: Be patient. May appear to die back a lot before beginning to grow. Develops root systems and sends out underground runners).
• Marsh Buttercup: Absolutely gorgeous in a waterfall. Last year mine sent out runners that went over the edge of the fountain tiers. Beautiful variegated foliage as well.
• Pennywort: Another one to take care with. I've never had a problem with it, but it is also considered invasive and can apparently naturalize into your yard. I wouldn't mind that myself, but that's just me. This plant will always have a place in my heart for being a fast grower that sent runners right out of the pot!

I've also had good success with my marsh marigold in splashing water--just not when I first purchased it.
And just to show how much I'm guessing at all of this, I literally moved my young marsh marigold into the splash zone of my fountain pond just yesterday! It had been in a very warm, sunny pond with very slow moving water prior to this discussion, and I decided my fountain pond (which is always a good 10-15 degrees cooler) might encourage better growth if the plant prefers cooler temperatures! Unfortunately, due to the fountain pond's constructions, there is no splash free area there!
So I may have consigned my little plant to death right after telling you about how the splashing might be causing problems! Hooray!

That may be the problem, it got planted in a difficult spot right away (it was purchased and went into the current location immediately as a young plant). I'm totally fine with moving it to the main pond until it grows up some. I'll have to buy more planters! Do you think it's safe to do that in the heat of summer or should I wait until fall?

I had lemon bacopa but it all died. I'm hoping someone will be willing to trade me some aquatic mint, lemon bacopa, or other emergent/submerged plants for some of the frogbit (or chameleon plant) I have that's growing like mad. I can't find anything when I google marsh buttercup, it just redirects to marsh marigold. Do you have a scientific name for it? I've seen a lot of people have water celery, and it always looks like it gets really big? It's a tiny little pool so I'm hoping for something that doesn't completely fill it and hide the waterfall. I need to have room for the waterfall to fall into it (and I would like to be able to see it). I suppose I could just rip out what I don't want as it fills in too much, I just worry about the height, in some of the photos I have seen on here it looks nearly 2 feet tall. I need something closer to a foot or less (I may just give up on planting in that level until the forget-me-nots are ready and just have more pond plants). Pennywort doesn't appears to be on any invasive lists in my state. What kind do you have/suggest? I found several things called pennywort in the US: Hydrocotyle spp., Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides, Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, Hydrocotyle umbellata, Hydrocotyle verticillata, Hydrocotyle prolifera, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, Begonia hydrocotylifolia, and one in Asia: Centella asiatica (Gotu Kola). None of them are listed as illegal here. I wonder if any of those would stay under a foot tall? I don't mind "mowing" things (cutting them back with scissors when they get tall) to keep them short, if they are "mowable" plants.