Do-it-Yourself Ponds & Water Gardens

Water Plants

Water plants are essential to creating a healthy ecosystem in your pond. They provide oxygen to the water for your fish, and also provide coverage and hiding places for fish and other pond life. The root systems also provide a safe harbor for fish and other eggs.

Types of water plants:

Water Lilies	Deep water water plants that root strongly in bottom of pond. Leaves float on water surface.

Oxygenating Plants	Totally submerged water plants. These water plants can never exist out of water. They root or float rootless under water.

Floating Water Plants	These water plants are small to medium and move freely in the pond.

Partly Emerging Water Plants	The longest list of water plants. These water plants generally do not like drying out.

Marginal Water Plants	Wet mud is all that is required for these water plants to do well.

When adding plants to your pond, remember not to overcrowd them. Here is a guide to help you determine how many of each specific plant type can be added to each 10 square feet of your pond surface:

2 bunches of oxygenating plants
1 water lily
1 bog plant

You can combine these different types of plants into each 10 square feet of surface space.

Special baskets are made in various shapes and sizes for planting pond plants. Remove the plants from the container they come in when purchased, and plant in these baskets using specially formulated aquatic compost that is low in phosphorous and nitrogen. Pond plants should also be fertilized, but only with fertilizers specifically designed for water plants.