Lizard's Tail (Saururus Cernuus) with floating ring

Perennial | Emergent Pond Plant | Creamy White Flowers | Shallow Water Plant

Add an unusual and eye-catching feature to your pond with Lizard's Tail (Saururus cernuus). This attractive perennial emergent pond plant produces distinctive long, creamy white flower spikes that curve and fold over, giving them the appearance of a lizard's tail.

The flowers also have a delicate citrus-like aroma, adding another point of interest when the plant is in bloom.

Lizard's Tail naturally prefers shallow water and is ideal for planting into the margins of your pond. Its firm stems emerge from the water, creating height and structure while providing a natural transition between the pond and surrounding garden.

Why Grow Lizard's Tail in Your Pond?

Lizard's Tail is an excellent choice when you're looking for an unusual marginal plant that adds height, texture and distinctive flowers to your water garden.

• Unique long creamy white flowers resembling a lizard's tail
• Delicate citrus aroma from the flowers
• Attractive emergent growth habit
• Excellent plant for shallow pond margins
• Adds height and structure to the water's edge
• Grows well in full sun to part shade
• Suitable for water depths of approximately 15cm
• Easy way to create a natural-looking pond margin

Lizard's Tail Pond Plant Features

• Botanical name: Saururus cernuus
• Common name: Lizard's Tail
• Plant type: Perennial
• Origin: North America
• Position: Full sun to part shade
• Mature height: Approximately 50–75cm
• Flowers: Long creamy white flower spikes
• Flowering feature: Flowers fold over and resemble a lizard's tail
• Water depth: Approximately 15cm
• Growth habit: Emergent
• Edible: No
• Oxygenator: No
• Best suited to: Shallow pond margins and wet areas

Growing Lizard's Tail

Lizard's Tail is an emergent pond plant, meaning it is rooted below the water surface while its stems and foliage grow upwards and emerge above the water.

It prefers shallow water and can be planted at approximately 15cm deep, making it particularly well suited to the margins of ponds.

Once established, the firm stems reach upwards and above the water surface, creating an attractive vertical feature around the pond.

Position

Lizard's Tail grows well in full sun to part shade.

A position with good sunlight will encourage strong growth and flowering, while part shade is also suitable.

Use it alongside other marginal plants with different heights and textures to create a layered and natural-looking pond edge.

Unique Lizard's Tail Flowers

The flowers are the standout feature of this unusual pond plant.

Lizard's Tail produces long, creamy white flower spikes that curve and fold over, creating the distinctive shape that gives the plant its common name.

The flowers also have a citrus-like aroma, adding a subtle sensory element to the garden when the plant is flowering.

Plant Lizard's Tail where the flowers can be easily seen from the edge of the pond to make the most of their unusual form.

An Emergent Pond Plant

Lizard's Tail is a classic emergent pond plant.

Unlike floating plants, its roots remain anchored in the pond's substrate while its firm stems grow upwards through the water and emerge above the surface.

This makes it ideal for creating height around shallow areas of the pond and forming a natural transition between open water and the surrounding garden.

Planting Lizard's Tail in Your Water Garden

Choose a shallow area of the pond where the plant can be rooted securely in aquatic planting media.

• Position in full sun to part shade
• Plant at approximately 15cm water depth
• Keep the roots and crown consistently moist
• Allow the stems to grow above the water surface
• Plant alongside other marginal plants for a layered effect
• Allow sufficient space for the plant to reach its mature height of approximately 50–75cm

Is Lizard's Tail an Oxygenating Plant?

No. Lizard's Tail is not an oxygenating pond plant.

Its primary benefits are its attractive emergent growth, vertical structure and distinctive flowers.

For pond oxygenation, combine Lizard's Tail with dedicated submerged oxygenating plants.

Create a Natural Pond Margin

Lizard's Tail is perfect for gardeners who want to move beyond traditional pond plants and introduce something unusual.

Its firm upright stems, shallow-water habit and distinctive creamy white flowers create an attractive vertical feature around the pond edge. Combine it with lower-growing groundcovers, grasses, rushes and flowering marginal plants to create a natural transition from the garden into the water.

Feeding Lizard's Tail

For healthy growth, feed Lizard's Tail during the active growing season with a suitable slow-release aquatic plant fertiliser.

Insert the fertiliser tablet into the planting medium according to the manufacturer's instructions, avoiding direct contact with the plant crown.

Add Something Unusual to Your Pond

With its unusual flowers, citrus-like fragrance and distinctive growth habit, Lizard's Tail is a real conversation starter in the water garden.

Plant it in shallow water around your pond margin and let its firm stems rise above the surface, creating height, structure and a unique flowering feature.