Its normal kazzie, next year when it has a lot more roots it will take off, you will have 3'(1 mtr)leaves in a couple of years and it will be 6-7' tall lol

and it dies right back every year Alan?

Does anyone have reeds? A neighbour of mine does, but they look quite scruffy (? overgrown / too many). Anyway, moorhens have nested amongst the reeds and not a flipping duck in sight! He said that when the moorhens arrived, the ducks left (coincidence?).

Can anyone suggest a large water lily please.

yes it does, but its better to cut off the leaves before they get to manky and use them to cover the crown, you wont have enough leaf to do it this autumn, but it protects it from frost that can kill it if we happen to get a good old fasion winter, I cut the leaves from the stems and use the stems a flowers as wieghts to hold them down, they are mostly rotted away enough for the new leaves to poke through next spring, then the rest feeds it as it rots away.

my gunnera is about 3 foot at the mo - look on the pics i posted, but i did buy it at roughly that size last year so i,m unsure? ours is bigger now than when it was bought. how big was it when you bought it? and when? looks healthy enough? lost me on the reeds lol o/ jo

The guy that did my garden last November planted it, so I guess its quite young. Its been under a bucket packed with straw all winter. There are 2 planting areas beside the pond... I've finished fiddling with one of them, but because the gunnera is so pokey, this area looks under-planted. I'm starting to wonder whether to move the gunnera (can this be done now without harming it?). I'd like to replace it with a dwarf weeping tree with non agressive roots (I used to have one at my last house, but can't remember the name of it). Any ideas?

I have 'reeds', typha latfolia, some of the old dead stalks are 2 years old and still upright, B&Q sell it which is probably your cheapest bought source.
Warning they spread, I am guessing one runner in my wildlife pond is about 3ft from the original planting point, there is a line of emergent reeds coming up. In your pond this could be a major problem so keep them contained in solid pots. I am think of adding some to the 1ft deep iris shelf in the fish pond, their growth would then be automatically contained. These may be cattails, if so it is probably wise to remove any seed heads before the burst
Flowering rush also looks a nice plant by all accounts and again that's in B&Q.
Lilies, are you going to pot them or let them grow free? If free Colonel A.J Welch gets big, ask Whis4ey on awgs, he also has a pink that is huge. Check B&Q, £4.98, or Woolies, £2.5x or £2.9x, for dry packed lilies but start them shallow and I would quaratine any Woolies lilies because they are from china, I think, and who knows..... If you do buy dry packs have a good sniff to see if there is any nasty smell, if there is dont get the lily.
Woolies also had sweet flag.
I believe nesting Moorhens are quite aggressive so they probably would chase the ducks off.

I would be cautious with reeds in a liner pond due to risk of puncture. On the other hand, in your large garden they would look ok. You can get a mini version which I have, but it's never flowered.
I would keep the guunera and put your willow somewhere else. Your site is quite exposed, so may be slowing the gunnera down.
You could also try Rheum for umbrella leaves.
ps Send the robin pic to the bird seed suppliers and ask if they want to use it in ads for some free seed.

You will need a lot of space for it kazzie, once that takes off it will cover an area 8' round and not a lot will grow under it either, eventualy you will have to cut it up to keep it under control, but you have a few years yet.

Kazzie, I planted a gunnera last year; it doesn't have much leaf yet but I noticed that the stems have increased tremendously in size, and took that as a good sign!

P.S. to be more specific, they have increased in girth - the height of the plant is similar to yours.

Sean amd damp... do you have a pic of your reeds?

I was just looking at that garden area Alan and I think there is space enough, but I've gone and done something stupid (again): The other garden area by the pond I've prettied up, so the gunnera site looks bland in comparison (just trying to imagine the plant fully grown and not sure it will look ok there... oh well).

Is yours by the pond Anyanka... will it look similar to your elephant ears once both have fully grown?

I boobed, B&Qs is Typha angustifolia. I will get a photo tomorrow.

this is a photo from 23/5/04 the clump on the left is yellow flag, there are 2 reeds coming up between the stumps left over from 2003 to the right of the yellow flag
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So far what I have isnt tending to form clumps, rather it is sending out runners from which the next shoots sprout.

My gunnera is not by the pond - I know, slightly odd decision - but there wasn't enough space. We put it in front of the shed, hoping it'll eventually hide the shed and block the view to/from the neighbour's garden!

There are at least two types of reeds in the wildlife pond one ringed in blue, the other in red, both show spread via runners. The following photos are from this morning.
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Ypo may not be able top see the reeds that clearly, I dont have the kanck of making the camera see what I see especially when I can see the screen in the sunlight.

Sean, they look tinier than I imagined. My neighbour's reeds are huge... could they be bullrush? Is bullrush a reed? Are they evergreen? Your wildlife pond is looking great.

Anyanka... red robin is a good plant for blocking an eyesore.

I have yellow flag Iris and bulrushes together and they tend to grow at the same speed and the same height. I find the bulrush leaves are thinner than the iris so if your neighbours are about the same height as the yellow iris they could be bulrushes instead of reeds. They don't stay evergreen but die back the same as Iris or go strawlike.
Alison

They arent bulrushes, I have those too just like a taller version of a common rush ie pith filled slender cone.

The stump left from the 2003 reed growth is between 1/2" and 3/4" thick.

Kazzie, what is red robin? I couldn't find it in my big plant encyclopedia.

I like red robins as well. I can't give you the real name myself. I am sure that lots of others will. I just wanted to say that they are out now in the garden centres and have green leaves but the new growth is all a lovely shade of red which gives it the common name.
Alison

The real name is photinia. I have one which is in flower - lovely!

HTH

Tricia

Tricia... what does HTH mean?

There are huge reeds growing in a brook close to the house... would it be unwise to pinch a few?

Anyanka... here a pic of my red robin, the great thing is that they're evergreen and you can prune quite harshly to control:
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Tricia, thanks for providing the Latin name - and Kazzie, you're amazing. I've seen that shrub in many a garden just recently and wanted to find out what it is because I want one. The red is spectacular.

Kazzie - I try to work out letters and I think that Tricia might mean with 'HTH'-'hope that helps' at least that is what I think she might mean so HTH's you..lol. That is a great pic of the red robin bush.
Alison