Water Poppy
Hydrocleys nymphoides
Aquatic Plants Difficulty: Easy
📖 About this plant
A charming floating aquatic plant with glossy, rounded, dark green leaves and bright yellow, poppy-like flowers that bloom freely throughout summer. Each flower lasts only one day but new ones open continuously. Excellent for small ponds and water gardens, providing shade cover and a cheerful display of yellow blooms.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
☀️
Light
Full sun (6+ hrs)
💧
Water
Fully aquatic (floating)
💨
Humidity
Very high (80-100%)
🌡️
Temperature
20-30°C
🪴
Soil
Heavy loam or clay soil in aquatic baskets at pond margins, 5-15 cm below surface
🧪
Fertilizer
Aquatic plant fertilizer tablets every 6 weeks during growing season
🌐 Common Names
HI
Hindi
वॉटर पॉपी
BN
Bengali
ওয়াটার পপি
MR
Marathi
वॉटर पॉपी
TE
Telugu
వాటర్ పాపీ
TA
Tamil
வாட்டர் பாப்பி
GU
Gujarati
વોટર પોપી
UR
Urdu
واٹر پوپی
KN
Kannada
ವಾಟರ್ ಪಾಪಿ
OR
Odia
ଓଟର ପପି
ML
Malayalam
ജലപ്പോപ്പി
PA
Punjabi
ਵਾਟਰ ਪੋਪੀ
AS
Assamese
ওটাৰ পপি
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Central and South America, Caribbean
- 📏 Max height
- 5-15 cm above water, spreads 30-60 cm via runners
- 📐 Spread
- 30-60 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Summer - Fall
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Yellow
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial
- 📈 Growth rate
- Moderate
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Non-toxic to fish and humans
- 🌱 Propagation
- Stolon division — produces runners that form new plantlets, stem cuttings
🛡️ Health & Safety
🐾 Pet safe
✅ Non-toxic
Non-toxic to fish and humans
Common issues
- Can become invasive in warm climates
- Flowers only open on sunny days
- Snails and aphids on leaves
- Root competition with other pond plants
💡 Care tips
- Produces cheerful yellow cup-shaped flowers throughout summer
- Shiny rounded green leaves float gracefully on the water surface
- Grows quickly and helps shade pond water to reduce algae
- Plant in containers at the surface to control spread
🪴 Add to My Plants
One click — added instantly. Watering every 7 days, fertilizing every 42 days.
