Description of Orontium aquaticum (Golden Club)

Orontium aquaticum is golden club, a North American marginal with unusual yellow flower spikes. It’s a great choice if you want something different on a pond shelf, and it looks good among more familiar irises and rushes.

Appearance

It makes upright, lance-shaped leaves that can reach 30 to 60cm. In late spring it produces a pale yellow club-like spadix on a stalk, which is the main feature. The flowers are subtle up close, but the shape is easy to recognise.

Care Guide

It needs constant water and it prefers a basket on a shelf rather than a damp border.

• Sun: Full sun to light shade.
• Soil: Aquatic compost in a basket, topped with gravel.
• Water depth: Shallow water, often 10 to 30cm over the soil line.
• Feeding: Feed lightly in spring if growth is slow.
• Division: Divide in spring if the basket becomes crowded.

Give it time. It can be slow to settle, but it improves once the rhizome establishes in warm, wet conditions.

Suitability for Bog Garden

This suits bog gardens that connect to a pond shelf or a permanently wet zone. It is best where water levels stay fairly steady through summer.

Use it as a curiosity plant, near seating or paths where you can appreciate the unusual flowers.

FAQ