There are many water plants that will play important roles in the health and wellbeing of your pond. One of the major players is going to be floating plants. Floating pond plants play many roles that help with maintenance, but contribute to the health of the wildlife surrounding your pond. [Read more…] about Floating Plants: A Contribution To Your Pond
Pond Plants: What You Need To Know
Water pond plants are essential to your body of water. They will provide nutrients to your water and help balance the water in you pond. There are all types of plants for all types of ponds, but here are a few plants that you’ll want no matter the type of pond you are building or already may have.
Floating pond plants
Floating pond plants are probably the group of pond plants with the most variety. The benefits of variety are that there will most likely be a floating pond plant that will fit your personal taste. If you look beyond the convenience of having a variety of looks though, these floating plants have many benefits to your pond as well.
Floating pond plants help with algae control and keeping your water clear. They cast shade in your pond which will help prevent algae growth. They also absorb large amounts of nutrients out of the water as they grow. The less nutrients in your water for algae to feed off of, the less algae; the less algae, the clearer the water will be! If you have fish in your pond check out certain types of floating plants like Azolla. These can provide fish with good nutrients to feed off of, which is a nice bonus.
Oxygenating pond plants/Submerged Pond Plants
Having oxygenating pond plants in your pond is going to be essential when it comes to the cleanliness and health of your pond. Oxygenating, as the name would suggest, releases oxygen into your pond. Why is this important? When oxygen is released into your pond it helps maintain the PH levels in your pond naturally. This can also be achieved by putting harmful chemicals into your pond which does nothing to contribute to the overall wellbeing of your plants, wildlife, and water! Maintaining PH levels in your pond keeps your water cleaner and actually helps soften the water as well.
The oxygenating pond plants you are going to want to look at are submerged pond plants. These are completely submerged by water and live in the bottom of your pond. Some examples of these hardy submersible/oxygenating pond plants are rotala, hornwort, or red ludwigia. There are many options of submerged pond plants to choose from, don’t avoid getting some of these kinds of pond plants. These are typically the hardy pond plants you will find and are very important to the overall wellbeing of the environment.
With some general things to look for in pond plants out of the way, here are a few things to think about how you can apply that knowledge to different pond situations you may have.
Wildlife pond plants
If you have a wildlife pond you may have to think about a few different things when it comes to plants for your pond than someone who is putting a water garden in their backyard. You need to keep in mind the variety of animals that your pond will attract, it is important to remember that you should keep your wildlife pond safe for them as well.
When it comes time to plant pond plants in your wildlife pond make sure to choose plants that have that can grow in shallow water, deep water, and of course make sure to have a lot of oxygenating plants in there as well. Giving wildlife a sloped edge to walk down to the pond along with plants that grow in shallow water will help prevent animals from falling into your pond because there is a sudden drop off. Having deep water plants, like water lilies, gives underwater creatures a place for cover and a home for the winter. Oxygenators are, again, important to help keep your pond clean and balanced.
Pond plants and animals
Depending of what kind of pond you have will determine what kind of animals are in and around your pond. Regardless of what kind of animals are around your pond, it is your responsibility to keep the place a safe environment for them to live.
Having the correct pond plants will contribute to the health of the fish and other species of animals that are living in and around the pond. The varieties of plants mentioned above (surface plants, oxygenators, and shallow growing plants) are all essential in keeping a good balanced ecosystem for the wildlife surrounding your pond.
There can be, however, invasive pond plants and animals that can take over and throw off the balance of your pond, thus eventually ruining all of the hard work you put into creating a water garden. These kinds of plants and animals are often introduced to the space by us! We don’t realize that a certain species of fish will eat all of the vegetation, contribute to the mosquito population, or be a threat to other native fish. Why would we think that a beautiful pond plant that looks similar to other common pond plants would suddenly take over the surface of your pond while never contributing to the overall wellbeing and balance of the environment?
Do your research, especially when you are choosing a fish and plants for your pond. You do not want to choose a fish that may eat lots of vegetation, yet gives of harmful nutrients into your water that contributes to algae growth and low oxygen levels in your pond. Be mindful of where you live, what survives best there, and your pond will be a beautifully balanced ecosystem!
Pond plants not only beautify your pond but as you can see; they play an important role in the balance of the water, and wildlife in your pond.
Pond Plants For Garden Ponds
The look and appearance of garden ponds can be enhanced greatly by adding plants, which grow naturally. The intrinsic benefits of using plants in ponds include water filtration, prevention of algae, absorption of important minerals and a safe shelter for various organisms including fish.
The addition of plants largely depends upon the overall theme of a pond. While most people choose to embellish classical ponds using ornate plans, they adopt a minimalistic approach while decorating contemporary ponds.
With regard to traditional ponds, it is important to decorate even the edges using flowering plants. This not only lends an artistic feel to the pond, but also provides shade for the koi fish. There are certain water pond plants, which are placed under the waterline, which makes them invisible. However, their role in preserving the ecosystem must not be undermined as they provide the much-needed oxygen to the pond.
Aquatic plants aid in water filtration and also absorb important nutrients that are conducive to the preservation of the ecosystem. Furthermore, they also curb algae, which is usually an unwanted visitor, and do so by extracting essential nutrients out of water. There are many pond plants that can be added to beautify a water garden. Pond plants are available in many different sizes and colors. They are broadly classified into four groups:
Anchored Plants: These also called floating plants, and contain leaves which float on or above the water surface. The roots of anchored plants are naturally found under the water. Floating plants helps to beatify a pond significantly. They also hide the cords/hoses required to maintain the filters of a pond. Popular anchored plants include Water Hyacinth and Duckweed, which make good choices as koi pond plants.
Submerged Plants: Also referred to as oxygenators, these plants are arguably the most useful plants that can be added into a pond. They are totally submerged in water, which infuse oxygen into the pond. Oxygenators also provide adequate protection to the fish.
Surface Plants: These plants are slightly different from floating plants as their roots are anchored into the ground.
Marginal Plants: a range of plants represents marginal Plants. Such plants come in a range of sizes and shapes. The moisture-loving Bog plant is the most important member of this group. These plants also prevent the formation of algae.
If possible, aquatic plants must be added during early summer or during spring time. Barring anchored or free-floating plants, most pond plants require planting. Two specific methods are used to add deep-water plants. Under the first method, the pond is peppered with a liberal dose of compost in order to facilitate plant growth. The second method is an easier option as it merely requires plants to be placed into containers. The latter option is usually better to control placement of the plants and to limit any fertilizer going directly into the water which also can lead to unwanted plant growth.
Important Considerations:
Do remember that pond plants require proper maintenance like deadheading and pruning. You may also need to cut taller plants to maintain the quality of water. Always remove any dead or dying plants from the water as well to avoid any problems with water quality that could affect fish health.
Beneficial Pond Plants For Small Ponds
Despite the fact that many backyard water gardens are, in a sense, artificial and man-made, every one can be improved and made more natural and “wild” by adding pond plants. Plants provide a number of benefits to fish ponds and whether you live in California, Salt Lake City, Texas, or Orlando, there will be a pond plant that will fit your climate and local area.
Most folks are clearly aware of how much some well chosen plants can improve the look and appearance of a water garden. The eyes certainly don’t lie, and when a colorful selection of lilies, lotus, or iris are added, a pond can become a vibrant, living, breathing display of a nature. Plants however add more to a pond than just good looks.
Pond Plants For Shade
During the hot summer months, excessive heat and sunlight can take it’s toll on just about anything exposed to the elements, and your pond is no exception. Sun exposure in abundance can often lead to, or at least support green water problems in small ponds. This phenomenon is actually free floating, single cell algae of various species. In very small numbers you wouldn’t even notice them, but as they grow in number, their presence begins to tint the water with a greenish hue. As their density increases this tinting can become an outright solid green color much like pea soup.
Green water usually isn’t a problem for fish but most pond owners go crazy trying to fix the problem. In actuality this coloration may actually protect the fish because it does diffuse the light a bit. However floating pond plants are a better option because they provide protective shade for the fish but also limit some of the sun exposure that feeds single cell algae. A clearer pond and happier fish, all through the addition of plants!
Koi Pond Plants Provide Protection
Sun blocking is a pretty obvious benefit of pond plants but we can take their contribution to another level when we consider how they integrate naturally with fish and help in a process called the nitrogen cycle.
Fish must eat to survive but a byproduct of this of course is waste. In large waters, this waste is diluted so much that it isn’t a problem but in a small backyard pond, it can affect water quality dramatically. Normally as this excrement is broken down it will turn into ammonia. Naturally occurring or supplemented bacteria will break this down into nitrites, then to nitrates and these are consumed by plants for food. And fish will quite often feed on plants.
Ammonia and nitrites are actually toxic to fish and if they are not converted through the nitrogen cycle, levels can build up in the water and cause big problems. So, plants and fish have a symbiotic relationship where they can rely on one another for balance. Plants are natural cleansers of pond water and this is important. Poor water quality issues lead to a variety of problems that are best avoided and pond plants can help greatly.
Pond Plants And Algae Control
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Buying Pond Plants
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Caring For Pond Plants
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