Have some questions about pond plants? Here are some general guidelines and information to help inform you. Ponds and water features are unique and can support individual plant and fish loads depending on their size, depth, sun exposure, water chemistry, etc. If you have more specific questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us via phone or email.
Q: What is the recommended amount of plants to put in the pond?
The recommended amount of plants is to have 30-50% of the surface covered. You should have a good variety of plants. Put in a mix of marginals, oxygenators, and water lilies.
Q: What happens to the plants in the winter time?
In the winter, most hardy plants (plants that naturally occur in this region) will die back and go dormant. The tropical plants will need to be brought inside or treated as annuals.
Q: Why do I need plants in my pond?
Aquatic plants are a major part of your pond’s ecosystem. Think of them as a living biological filter. Plants use nutrients from your water (fish waste, pollens, etc,) and keep it clean. Without them your pond would be murky and smell.
Q: Will plants reduce the amount of algae I have?
Generally yes. The more plants you have in your pond, the more nutrients are being used up, the more surface area is covered, which means less algae can use the sunlight to grow.
Q: How do floating plants help my eco-system?
Floating plants like hyacinth and water lettuce are quite vigorous growers, and shade quite a bit of your pond and can provide protection for fish. Their large root mass acts like a screen to filter and absorb nutrients from the water as they float along. Be careful though, left unchecked, plants like water hyacinth and water lettuce can completely cover the water surface and choke all the light from shining in the water. Floating plants can do great in stream beds acting as a filter in the faster moving water.
Q: Do underwater plants help my eco-system?
Underwater plants are great at producing oxygen in the deeper parts of your pond. They also use up a lot of nutrients because they absorb through their leaves along with their roots.
Q: In the winter time my plants' leaves turn brown; what should I do?
Some plants are not hardy in your area. You must trim back all the decaying foliage, and sometimes remove the whole plant. Decaying plant mass just adds more nutrients in the pond.
Q: Can some aquatic plants live out of the pond?
There are many types of plants that are both aquatic and terrestrial. Some take a little time to get acclimated to the other setting. There are some vine plants that do great outside the pond, as long as the original root is still in the pond.
Q: What are these little bugs eating my plants?
They are probably aphids. The best way to get rid of them is to get a herbal aphid control spray (make sure it is safe for fish and aquatic gardens). Or you could always get a bunch of lady bugs, which eat them right up.
Q: Can I plant my aquatic plant in the gravel?
Most aquatic bog plants can be planted directly in the gravel at the bottom of a shallow bog or pond, but it may be better to build a planting pocket with extra gravel for the taller plants like cattail. Planting in the gravel is very advantageous to the overall eco-system, but you might have a problem trying to contain the plants, without a pot constricting them, they can grow fast and out of control.
Q: What is the best way to plant aquatic plants?
You can place aquatic plants right in a gravel bottom pool, but it’s better to use an aquatic planter basket, which are usually plastic basins with holes to let water and nutrients flow through, sort of like a laundry basket. Rinse out the plants root mass and fill the planter basket with small gravel. Then bury the plant in the basket,fill with aquatic plant media, and cover the top of the basket with gravel. The gravel on top helps keep fish from rooting through the planting media and uprooting the underwater aquatic plants.
Q: How many underwater plants should I have in my pond?
For smaller ponds you should have about 20 plants per square foot, for mid sized ponds roughly 10 plants per square foot, and for large ponds use around 5-6 per square foot.
