How To Select Aquatic or Water Plants For A Garden Pond ...
Garden pond plants ... choose from 6 types of aquatic plants for your pond garden. Every fish pond should have some plants too. There are 6 main types in 4 different broad classes ... Please note water plants are only available from October to April.
The plants available from us are:
- Water Lillies
- Imperial & Standard Taros
- Standard & Dwarf Umbrella Palms
- Standard & Dwarf Papyrus
- Bull Rushes
- Tape Grass
- Yellow Water Snow Flakes
- River Stars
Contact us at cascadia@netactive.co.za or 083-406-1677 for orders and enquiries.
1. Water lilies ... everybody's favourite aquatic plant. There are so many different varieties of water lily with a wide range of colours, sizes and even scents. Some only bloom at night.
2. Marginals ... shallow (also called bog plants) medium depth and deep water marginals
3. Floating plants ... plants like the Water Hyacynth which get out of control in natural waterways once introduced. take a look at Hartebbespoort Dam as a good example for pond plants gone wild. The reason is very high nutrient levels in the water.
4. Oxygenator plants ... the most important from a water quality point of view since as their name implies they add oxygen to pond water.
All Aquatic Plant Types & Descriptions ...
| 6 Different Types of Pond Plants | Basics for Each Pond Plant Type |
|
|
|
| Waterlilies water plants type 1. The water lily queen of aquatics. Also called Lotus or Nymphaea. Wide variety of flower colours. Some fragrant. | Deep water aquatic plants that root strongly in bottom of pond. Leaves float on water surface. Many waterlilies are hardy, and others tropical only. Some bloom at night. Most in the day. |
| Oxygenators water plants type 2 and normally submersed | Totally submerged aquatic plants. These water plants can never exist out of water. They root or float rootless under water. |
| Floating water plants that float on the pond surface are type 3 | These aquatic plants are small to medium and move freely in the pond. |
| Partly emerging (from the surface) water plants: type 4 | Pond plants like these root into mud and show strong growth and flowers project out of the water. |
| Marginals water plants type 5 for planting in about 3 to 6 inches of water. Many have beautiful flowers | The longest list of aquatic plants. These water plants generally do not like drying out. |
| Bog plants water plants: type 6. These like wet feet | Similar to group 6 water plants. Wet mud is all that is required for these water plants to do well. |
Pond plants introduction:
Water garden pond plants breathe somewhat differently to us. Typical pond plants breathe in carbon dioxide during the day (and breathe oxygen out) Pond plants breathe in oxygen during the night (and breathe carbon dioxide out). All water plants behave as follows in a pond and are thus able to add real value to that environment:
Garden pond plants convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to oxygen in the water and use this carbon dioxide to produce energy in the form of sugars - photosynthesis. All pond plants consume nitrogen chemicals (mainly nitrates and phosphates) that build up in the water. Water cress is often used for this purpose. make your plants work for you too. If you remove nitrates then blanketweed and algae are less of a problem Aquatic plants have a limited filtering effect. Some pond water plants are particularly good at oxygenating the pond water. These plants are generally submersed and if you look carefully on a bright sunny day you'll see bubbles of oxygen coming from the leaves. Select plants for around a pond to blend in with the garden pond. Refer to the diagram in the aquatic plants link above left to see a diagram that will help you decide on plants for around a pond.
How many pond plants should I put in a garden pond with or without fish?
Here is a rule of thumb for deciding how many pond plants to add to your pond. To each square metre of surface (10 square feet):
2 bunches of oxygenating plants will look after this size of pond
1 Water lily - there is a massive range of these pond plants to choose from
1 Bog plant - these pond plants can also be planted around the perimeters of garden ponds.
You would of course combine plants into areas and not space them according to this rule of thumb.
Planting aquatic plants in a fish pond
Bear in mind that aquatic plants do get bigger so dont over-plant your pond. Remember waterlilies do not like splashing water or rapidly moving water. Water lilies tend to like water deeper than 60cm.
When you plant a garden pond use specially designed baskets into which specially formulated aquatic compost or soil has been used low in phosphorous and nitrogen. Only ever use fertilizer food made for pond plants.
An alternative to baskets for pond plants are normal plastic planting pots. Cover the top of the pot with pebbles or gravel to prevent fish disturbing the soil and roots of the garden pond or aquatic plants especially if you keep koi. Goldfish are less destructive.
For marginal garden pond plants planting areas use coco mats or coir as a means to hold the plant in position. You can also place a bit of special compost or soil together with the coir for these garden pond plants. Place pebbles on the mat to keep it submerged. Floating pond plants of course do just that ... they float and are not anchored into soil.
Here is a clever trick for garden pond plants where you already have a pond and it is fairly deep and you want to place a largish plant in the pond. Get a second person to help and between you hold two ropes in parallel stretching across the pond. Allow the ropes to be placed beneath the ridge of the garden pond plants pot as if the pot was in a sling or hammock and then gently lower it to the bottom of the pond.
BEWARE INVASIVE AND SURFACE FLOATING PLANTS LIKE THE WATER HYACINTH ... Floating plants once they find their way into a river or stream can spread remarkably quickly. Don't be tempted to bring home any aquatic plant you come across ... these can become invasive and may also introduce blanketweed and other algae problems.
Cannas species add a tropical feel to any garden. One way to use them is in or near your pond or water feature. Cannas will do just fine planted in pot and submerged in shallow water or in a soggy spot. Just remember that for most of us, they are not winter hardy and will need to be stored over the winter.
Iris varieties and species make good marginal and bog type plants.