Elodea canadensis

Cultivation Details

Elodea canadensis has been known to tolerate winter temperatures down as low as -30°c^[1]. It has a wide climatic tolerance, being present from the cold temperate climate of Alaska to the tropics of Puerto Rico, though it may be less common as the extremes of its range. It is predominant in temperate areas of North America and Europe. Pip and Simmons (1986) in Canada, and Sheldon and Boylen (1977) in the USA, studied the maximum depths at which a number of submerged aquatic plants were found, and the maximum recorded for any species was 12 - 14 metres for Elodea. In North America it has been recorded in neutral to slightly alkaline inland waters and in fresh to slightly brackish coastal waters A floating, submerged plant of sunny, open speces, growing well in slowly-moving water and also succeeding in ponds^[2]. North American plants have been recorded in neutral to slightly alkaline inland waters and in fresh to slightly brackish coastal waters^[3]. Plants grow more vigorously when able to root into the mud of the pond^[4]. Plants have been known to succeed in water as deep as 12 - 14 metres^[3]. A dioecious species, though occasional hermaphrodite forms are found^[5]. Most of the plants grown in Europe are female clones and so seed is seldom, if ever, produced^{[6, 3]}. Plants perennate by means of overwintering buds that sink to the bottom of the pond in the autumn and then commence growing in the spring.