Arrowhead (Duck Potato)
Sagittaria latifolia. ALISIMATACEAE.
Planting and Growing Arrowhead
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow arrowhead in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of arrowhead
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for arrowhead
- Season of bloom and planting time for arrowhead
- When, how deep, and where to plant arrowhead
- How to plant arrowhead
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of arrowhead
- Landscape and container uses of arrowhead
- Comments about arrowhead and its features
Growing Arrowhead
Several cultivars of upright, spreading, tuberous, deciduous perennial herbs, 2–4 ft. (60–120 cm) tall. Shiny, deep green, triangular, arrowhead-shaped leaves, to 20 in. (50 cm) wide, on fleshy, arching stalks, forming a circular, radiating base.
Edible roots (see Features tab).
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Showy, bright white, open, 5-petaled flowers, to 1‑1/2‑in. (38‑mm) wide, in whorled clusters, to 6 in. (15 cm) long, in late summer.
Best Climates
Hardy. Zones 3–11.
Soil Type and Fertility
Wet to moist, well-drained humus or, in water features, shallow-depth marginal or shoreline sites. Fertility: Average. 6.0–8.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in full to filtered sun, 1 ft. (30 cm) apart, or submerged to 6 in. (15 cm).
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist. Fertilize annually in spring. Propagate by division.
About This Plant
Good choice for accents, edges in bog, natural, shade, woodland gardens or water feature margins. Disease resistant. Water lily aphid susceptible.
Arrowhead tubers, when roasted, boiled, or baked, have a sweet and nutty flavor and a texture often compared to potato or sweet potato; they are bitter when eaten raw.