Hairy Nardoo Large Leaf Form (Marsilea drummondii) pond plant with floating ring

Australian Native | Native Four Leaf Clover | Large Leaf Form | Seasonal Flooding Tolerant

Bring a touch of Australia’s natural wetlands to your water garden with Hairy Nardoo Large Leaf Form (Marsilea drummondii), also known as Native Four Leaf Clover.

This fascinating Australian native produces distinctive four-leaf-clover-shaped foliage and is a wonderful choice for ponds, water bowls and wetland-style gardens. The Large Leaf Form is particularly attractive, with its larger, lush green foliage creating an interesting natural feature around the water.

Hairy Nardoo is highly adaptable and can tolerate seasonal flooding, making it well suited to changing water levels. For the easiest growing results, we recommend growing it in a floating pond plant ring, where it can spread naturally across the surface. It can also be grown submerged in water up to approximately 30cm deep.

Why Grow Hairy Nardoo in Your Pond?

Hairy Nardoo is an excellent choice if you're looking for an Australian native pond plant with unusual foliage and a natural appearance.

• Distinctive four-leaf-clover-shaped foliage
• Large Leaf Form for an especially attractive display
• Australian native pond plant
• Tolerates seasonal flooding and changing water levels
• Can be grown floating or submerged
• Excellent choice for floating pond plant rings
• Suitable for full sun to part shade
• Adds natural structure and habitat to the water garden
• Great for native and wildlife-friendly ponds

Hairy Nardoo Pond Plant Features

• Botanical name: Marsilea drummondii
• Common name: Hairy Nardoo
• Also known as: Native Four Leaf Clover
• Form: Large Leaf Form
• Plant type: Aquatic perennial
• Origin: Australian native
• Position: Full sun to part shade
• Water depth: Can be grown submerged to approximately 30cm
• Recommended growing method: Floating pond plant ring
• Foliage: Distinctive four-leaf-clover-shaped leaves
• Flood tolerance: Tolerates seasonal flooding
• Best suited to: Ponds, water bowls, shallow water and wetland-style gardens

Growing Hairy Nardoo

Hairy Nardoo is a versatile aquatic plant that adapts well to different water levels. While it can be grown submerged to around 30cm, we recommend growing it in a floating pond plant ring.

Growing Hairy Nardoo in a floating ring allows the foliage to spread naturally across the surface of the water, creating a beautiful green feature while providing shelter around the pond.

It can also be planted into shallow areas where water levels fluctuate, making it particularly useful for ponds that experience seasonal changes.

Position

Hairy Nardoo grows well in full sun to part shade.

A sunnier position will encourage strong, lush growth, while part shade is also suitable. It is a particularly useful choice where you want to introduce native foliage into a pond without requiring a completely exposed position.

Native Four Leaf Clover Foliage

The most appealing feature of Hairy Nardoo is its unusual foliage.

The leaves have the familiar appearance of a four-leaf clover, creating a distinctive and charming look on the surface of the water. The Large Leaf Form produces larger foliage, making it an excellent feature plant for water bowls, patio ponds and larger water gardens.

Its natural growth habit works beautifully alongside other native pond plants, grasses and rushes to create a more diverse water garden.

Habitat for Your Pond

Like many aquatic and wetland plants, Hairy Nardoo can contribute to a more natural pond environment by providing additional foliage and shelter around the water.

When grown in a floating pond ring, its spreading growth can create areas of cover that are useful for small aquatic creatures and pond life.

For a wildlife-friendly Australian pond, combine Hairy Nardoo with native marginal plants, grasses and flowering pond plants to create layers of foliage and habitat.

Seasonal Flooding Tolerant

Hairy Nardoo is well suited to environments where water levels naturally rise and fall. It can tolerate seasonal flooding, making it a useful choice for ponds and water gardens where conditions aren't always constant.

This adaptability also makes it a great option for creating a more natural wetland-style planting scheme.

Is Hairy Nardoo an Oxygenating Plant?

No. Hairy Nardoo is not classified as an oxygenating pond plant.

If you're building a balanced pond, use Hairy Nardoo alongside dedicated oxygenating plants. Our 3-2-1 pond planting rule is a simple starting point: aim for approximately 3 oxygenating plants, 2 marginal plants and 1 flowering plant per square metre.

Planting Hairy Nardoo in Your Water Garden

For the easiest growing method, place your Hairy Nardoo into a floating pond plant ring and position it on the surface of your pond.

The ring allows the plant to float while its roots access the water and its foliage grows across the surface.

Hairy Nardoo can also be grown submerged to approximately 30cm deep. When planting below the surface, ensure it is securely planted into suitable aquatic planting media.

For smaller water features and water bowls, the floating pond ring is an especially easy way to introduce this unusual Australian native.

Feeding Hairy Nardoo

For healthy growth, feed Hairy Nardoo during the active growing season with a suitable aquatic plant fertiliser. Insert a slow-release pond plant fertiliser tablet into the planting media according to the product instructions.

Avoid placing fertiliser directly into the pond water.

Add an Australian Native to Your Pond

With its unusual four-leaf-clover foliage, adaptability to seasonal flooding and ability to grow either floating or submerged, Hairy Nardoo Large Leaf Form is a fascinating addition to an Australian water garden.

Add it to your pond, water bowl or wetland-style garden and enjoy this distinctive native plant as it establishes and spreads.