Marginal pond plant
Heart-leaved houttuynia ('Chameleon')
Houttuynia cordata 'Tricolor'
A rhizomatous marginal perennial suited to very shallow, muddy pond margins; vigorous and best grown in containers to restrict spread.
PLANT PROFILE
About Heart-leaved houttuynia ('Chameleon')
Houttuynia cordata 'Tricolor' (commonly called the Chameleon plant or heart-leaved houttuynia) is a rhizomatous, clump-forming marginal perennial that tolerates wet ground and boggy conditions. RHS lists it among marginal/pond plants and notes it suits pond margins and bog gardens, but cautions it spreads freely by underground stems and can become a nuisance if not contained. It produces dense white to cream flower spikes in late spring.
Height and spread figures vary between RHS entries: the plant profile gives a maximum of 10–50 cm (0.1–0.5 m) in height and 50–100 cm spread, while the RHS marginal list also cites a height of about 60 cm; the larger figures reflect cultivar and presentation differences. Because it spreads by rhizomes, containment is important: RHS explicitly recommends growing Houttuynia in containers where its spread can be restricted and advises planting marginal species for small pools in 15 cm (6 in) containers. On RHS's pond-plant layout Houttuynia appears in the very-shallow/mud group (marginal category before the 5–15 cm heading), supporting suitability at very shallow marginal conditions rather than as a submerged oxygenator.
RHS lists the plant as deciduous (above-ground growth dies back seasonally) with hardy H6 roots/rhizomes that persist through winter. Propagation is by division in spring or by semi-ripe cuttings of young basal shoots. Practical management guidance from RHS emphasises regular division to limit spread, avoiding planting where rhizomes can run into wet soils or watercourses, and quarantining new water plants before introducing them.
RHS indicates the plant is not native to Britain and it does not appear in RHS oxygenator lists; supplied GOV.UK guidance pages searched do not list Houttuynia cordata on the invasive-species statutory lists inspected for England & Wales, but RHS horticultural advice warns it may be too invasive for small pools unless contained. The plant's wildlife value is not established in the supplied sources.
POND SUITABILITY