Texas mud baby – cutest plant name ever?
This spring Vicki at Playin’ Outside and I exchanged divisions of pond plants, and I was given an unprepossessing clump of leaves in a pot, which Vicki informed me was a native bog plant called Texas mud baby (Echinodorus cordifolius). Texas mud baby?! How could I resist? I set it on a concrete block, with the top of the pot just beneath the water level in my stock-tank pond, and waited to see what it would do.
As soon as summer temperatures arrived, the Texas mud baby grew up! It’s now a handsome, vase-shaped plant with rounded, heart-shaped leaves. Long stems reach across the pond, trying to establish new roots, before opening small, tissue-like, white flowers with yellow eyes. Nobody should put Baby in a corner—she clearly needs room to spread.
The only downside that I’ve discovered is that she’s top heavy and tends to blow over when it’s windy. I need to figure out a way to anchor the pot more securely to the concrete block.
So what is the cutest plant name you’ve encountered?
All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
If it’s a plastic nursery pot, I would just push a wire thru drain holes in it and wire it to the block. Hmmmmmm… Can’t thing of any cute plant names at the moment… If I do I’ll come back. :0)
The pot doesn’t have drain holes, Randy, but I can probably make something like that work. Thanks for the suggestion. —Pam
Hmmm…so many evocative common names, but my fave will always be the first botanical name I ever learned: Osteospermum fruticosum. We put quite a layer of gravel on our pond pots. It holds them down and also holds the soil in place.
We must have stronger winds here in Texas, Ricki. Leafy plants perched on top of blocks in my pond—even with heavy gravel on top—blow right over. I’m going to need to secure the pot to the block, I think. —Pam
That is a good one!! Love how tall it has become since this spring. If any cute plant names float through my head later (none are coming to me now) I will come back and share.
I’m counting on it, Janet. 🙂 —Pam
Who can top Texas Mud Baby? But my new dark wine rose from David Austin is blooming now: ‘Night Owl’. That’s pretty cute.
I had a two-legged Texas Mud Baby, who careened, squealing towards any mud puddle within sight, but that was 38 years ago. 😉
And what about that old standby native groundcover, Frogfruit? That’s a cute name, too.
‘Night Owl’ sounds rather elegant to me, and since I love owls, I’m a big fan of that name. Now frogfruit—yes, that’s cute. —Pam
I don’t have any cuties but I sure like that one and hope to have a cutie in my garden when we fill up the tank. I have to weigh down some of my garden pots with large river rocks. If there is no room to do that then you could tie a rope around and over the pot with two weights attached at each end. Might work.
Good suggestion, Jenny. Rope or wire attached to rocks or the blocks the plant is sitting on—I think that’s the ticket. —Pam
‘Nobody puts Baby in a corner’…got it! That came from one of our daughter’s favorite movies….I bet I heard those words a hundred times. 🙂
That’s a nice plant. Don’t think I’ve seen one of those, with the long stems, reaching out.
When we had our pond, we put rocks on top of the soil in pots. This weighed it down, and kept the fish from digging in the pots.
You’re the first person who’s mentioned the ‘Dirty Dancing’ quote, Linda. I’m glad my movie references don’t go unappreciated. 😉 —Pam
Oh I love those tissue paper flowers and the name. We are hoping to put in a similar pond once the kids are bigger and not so tempted to fall in. Love your set up! Looks great.
Thanks, Josie. You’ll love your container pond when you are able to set it up. —Pam
I bought pond plants today but unfortunately no Texas mud baby….if only!
I find plant names that have “weed” included are quite apropos and I love some of the Agave common names like Shin Dagger and Whales Tongue…but I think you’re setting the bar pretty high with ‘mud baby’….
Agave names do tend to be quite descriptive or evocative. I’m glad you reminded me of them. —Pam
I think you could drill holes in your plastic pot and use black coated electrical wire to secure it, and the plastic coating would delay rust. I used to use this to secure my plants to black plastic milk crates, which I placed on their sides, with a brick or rock inside. I had to do this because my dog refused to stay out of my pond when it was hot. I hope I find something as cute as mud baby today! I have new above ground water feature inspired by you that needs some plants. I put a tutorial on how I did my version of your spigot, it works great. I get such inspiration from your blog, Pam.
Good tip, Pam. Also, I wanted to comment on your fountain post but can’t without a Google account, so I’ll leave it here: Fantastic adaptation for your own pond, and how cool that you made a photo tutorial to show how it’s done! Thanks for the link love too. —Pam
Cutest name? Pink Fairy Duster! Mine didn’t flinch in last summer’s heat, blooms its little head off with cool mimosa-like fluff, and its whimsical and perfectly descriptive name makes me smile every time I walk by it.
That is a cute name—for a very tough plant! —Pam
I believe there is something like this at Mayfield Gardens, over by the pigeon cote in a shallow round basin. I wonder if it is the awesome Mud Baby. Good luck on fixing yours down!
I’ll have to go take a look. I’m overdue for a visit to Mayfield’s scenic grounds. —Pam
Cutest name, I rather like the common one for Craspedia globosa: Billy Balls. Australians seem to have the best common names. Lilly Pilly, Pencil Pine, Silky Net, Wooly Bush…
Those are quite good, Hoov. Is it just me, or do they also sound a little risque? —Pam
Greatpond ! I too use stock tanks as ponds ! I noticed that you used a concrete block to put in the pond, well, I made the same mistake a few years ago. The concrete leaches out lime and chemicals and kills your fish. Also, it causes the water to become very (acidic or alcaline) I don’t remember which . This too may harm your water plants. I think I spelled (alcaline wrong) Oh well….. Anyway, just wanted to pass that tidbit on to you. I love your blog ! Thank you and have a great summer !
Hi, Todd. I’ve always used concrete blocks in my ponds, and of course central Texas has thousands of natural limestone springs and creeks (alkaline also) in which fish thrive. I just did some online research to see what experts say about using concrete in ponds, and the majority say that cured concrete (i.e., not powdered or freshly poured) is perfectly safe to use. —Pam
Pam…I have been an aquarist for many years…and Echinodorus cordifolius is a plant that will do well if totally submerged or even partially emerged…you may have to drop the plant down another 4 to 5 inches…that may solve the blowing over problem (half submerged, half above water)
Thanks for the suggestion, Chuck. —Pam