Purple loosestrife Lythrum salicaria purple - Marsh plant, waterside plant

The aquatic plant, Purple Loosestrife, is best used in a pond basket. Cover the basket with jute and fill the pond with special soil. Plant Purple Loosestrife in the basket, fill with soil and add a growth ball. Cover everything with the remaining jute and sprinkle with a layer of gravel. Place the basket just below the surface or up to 20 cm deep in the pond. If your pond is not too shallow, you can place your basket within a pile of stones. Place this plant in complete or partial sunshine. The best time to plant is between May and June. Purple Loosestrife makes an excellent combination plant The stunning pink flower spikes of Purple Loosestrife are perfect along the edge of the pond. In moist soil, you can combine this plant with the fantastic Butomus Umbellatus or arum of Ethiopia (Zantedeschia Aethiopica).

Purple Loosestrife is a strong hardy plant that actually grows anywhere with moist soil. The great thing, however, is that the Purple Loosestrife blooms with total sunshine. In autumn, cut off its dead leaves and remove them from the pond. If the clump grows too large, in May you can take the Purple Loosestrife out of the pond, divide the clump into smaller pieces and only plant one piece back. Purple Loosestrife ‘Blush’ in the winter Purple Loosestrife dies back in the winter. As long as the roots are below ground (or under the water) it will do just fine. In spring cut back old stems from the previous year and you will be treated to new flowers in the summer.

The wild Purple Loosestrife naturally grows along ditches and other damp places and helps dry out swampy land. 

Loosestrife is categorised in its own family of Lythraceae.