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Potamogeton praelongus
Also called Long-stalked Pondweed, White Stemmed Pondweed, White Stem Pondweed
Whitestem pondweed is a large, perennial submerged aquatic plant from cool northern lakes and rivers, grown only rarely in gardens. It needs deep, clean, cool water and does not tolerate turbidity.
Potamogeton praelongus, commonly known as whitestem pondweed in North America and long-stalked pondweed in Britain, is a large, perennial aquatic plant in the family Potamogetonaceae. It is widely distributed in lakes and rivers in the northern hemisphere, but is sensitive to poor water quality.
P. praelongus is not in general cultivation, though it is an attractive plant. Unlike many other pondweeds it remains wintergreen. In common with other pondweeds of this group it roots poorly from stem cuttings and is best propagated by division of the rhizomes. Its preference for relatively deep water and intolerance of turbid conditions may make it unsuitable for many garden ponds. If possible it should be grown in water at least 70 cm deep on a sandy, peaty or silty substrate. Good water quality is needed to reduce the risk of turbid water or growth of blanket weed. Seed can be encouraged to germinate by immersing dried seed in water for at least a month, exposing them to a cold period, or by scarifying them.
Potamogeton praelongus has a Holarctic distribution, occurring in northern Europe (Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Poland, Russia, the Baltic States), Greenland, Asia (Siberia, China, Korea, Japan), and North America (northern US, Canada). There are outlying populations in the Caucasus, Pyrenees and western USA.
Alpine pondweed · Small Pondweed · Fen Pondweed · Grass-wrack pondweed · Curly pondweed · Little-leaf pondweed · Pondweed · Waterthread pondweed · Ribbonleaf pondweed · Variableleaf pondweed · Illinois pondweed · Potamogeton ×inbaensis
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Potamogeton praelongus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
