Planting Up Your New Pond

By Isabella Woods

That’s it! The hard work of building your pond has been done. You’ve watched the water level anxiously for evidence of holes in the liner and it has remained pretty constant for a week, apart from evaporation. Now your mind turns to softening up those edges and hiding the liner from view. Hurrah! But before you zoom off to the garden centre, read up a bit on aquatic plants. You could save yourself some time, and money.

Planning

As well as considering how a plant looks, you must also be aware of how it functions, in order to balance the ecosystem in your pond. Some plants are mainly ornamental, some have leaves that shade the water and keep algae down. Some take up more nitrogen than others, and some will be best at oxygenating the water. It’s important to bear all of these things in mind and choose plants which will balance each other out.

It’s very tempting to rush into buying water plants. I have done it myself. They look so wonderful in the nursery pools, and it seems so easy to just pick them up and plant. But unless you plan carefully you might find your pond overstocked, or indeed under-stocked! The general principle to adhere to is that plants should cover not more than two thirds of the pond’s surface. If you cram your pond full you will inhibit the water circulation, which in turn leads to plant diseases. Don’t forget also that the tiny plants you see in the garden centre will grow much more quickly than you think, so check out the height and spread of each plant before you buy it.

As with a normal garden it is wise to think about which plants you will use for colour, which for flowers, which for their evergreen properties and which ones for their shape. It is exactly the same principle with water gardening; only your choice is somewhat more limited. The four main categories of water plants should be in your mind when you plan, and you should make sure you have at least one from each category.

Deep aquatic plants – aquatic plants these are plant whose roots are firmly in the soil at the bottom of your pond, but whose leaves and flowers sit on the water’s surface. Water lilies are the most popular of these. Their roots make great hiding places for fish, and their leaves shade the water, which helps keep algae down. Remember that Water Lilies need a good deal of sun in order to flower, and they also don’t enjoy moving water. Other deep aquatic or surface floating plants are Lotus, Water Hawthorne, Variegated Four-leaf Water Clover, and Yellow Floating Heart

Free-floating plants - these plants do exactly what their name says. They float around freely in the water, with their roots unattached. They can be a nuisance in that they need thinning fairly regularly, but they have an essential function in shading the water, again, keeping algae growth in check. Free-floating aquatic plants include water hyacinth, water lettuce and parrot’s feather. Water Soldier is a useful free-floating plant in this category. It removed excess nutrients from the water and has a pleasing spiky leaf shape, which contrasts nicely with water lilies. It does need thinning regularly however, be warned.

Submerged aquatics - These plants live below the surface of the water and produce oxygen. You will see tiny bubbles come to the surface! Submerged aquatics include Hornwort, Cabomba and Pond Weed. The latter is the most well known variety of submerged aquatic plant and it performs extremely well at oxygenating the water. It is also evergreen. Be prepared to thin regularly, again, but no pond should really be without this obliging aquatic plants or Bog plants

Marginal plants or Bog plants These plants live in the marshy soil surrounding your pond, or submerged in baskets at the water’s edge. They prefer their roots and lower parts submerged. In the water, they function by competing with algae for available nitrogen. Some of the most beautiful aquatic plants are included in this category. Zebra, Canna, Lobelia, and King Cup, Bulrush, variegated Water Celery, Arum lily and of course the Water Iris.It goes without saying that law strictly forbids taking water plants from the wild. I would actually recommend that you go to a specialist aquatic plant nursery for your stock, rather than a normal garden centre. Whilst you may pay a little more you can be sure that the plants will have been grown in ideal conditions, will have been looked after and be disease free. And after all your hard work building the pond, you deserve the best!

If you want to contact Isabella, use the contact us button, and I will forward it on, regards Ed.