Garden Pond Plants

Pond plants are an extremely essential part of any garden pond. They help achieve a balanced ecology by using up pond nutrients and provide a safe surface cover to pond creatures like fish.

Types of Pond Plants

Basically pond plants can be classified into four basic categories - oxygenators, floaters, Marginals and Deep Water Aquatics. Though not a necessity, it would be great to have all these four varieties in your pond as each variety is useful in its own way as we will see below:

Oxygenators

Oxygenators are plants that are submerged in the pond water. Some oxygenators may show a growth above water if the pond water is too shallow. Oxygenators do not flower but they do help in increasing the beauty of your pond in relation to the pond fish. Apart from giving a natural look to your pond, Oxygenators perform an extremely important function of pond cleansing. They take up excessive nutrients from the pond water, cutting food supply to algae and other pathogens. During the day time, they soak up carbon-dioxide from the pond water and release oxygen which is important for the survival of pond life. In addition they can also act as shelter to fishes during extremely cold temperatures.

Some popular oxygenators for garden ponds include Anacharis, Parrot's feather, cabomba, Milfoil, HORNWORT, ELODIA and VALSINARIA. Oxygenators can be purchased as bunches and used based on the pond's surface area (one bunch per every two square feet).

Floaters

As the name suggests, floaters are pond plants that float on the water surface. Their roots remain submerged whereas their leaves and stems float on the surface of the water acting as a pond cover. They perform the important function of protecting pond life like fishes from direct sunlight, thereby helping the pond water to remain cool during hot sunny days.

Some popular floaters for garden ponds include water hyacinth, frogbit, water lettuce and water-soldiers. Some floaters like duck weed are invasive and hence can be avoided.

Marginals

Marginals are plants that grow to the brim of the water. They generally need to be planted in individual containers and kept not more than two to three inches below the water surface. They also need to be fertilized on a regular basis.

If you are building an ornamental pond then marginals are your best bet. They help in beautifying the pond with their attractive flowers and leaves. Though, they are not very useful when it comes to conserving water balance in the pond. Some popular marginals include pickerel weed, marsh marigold and irises

Deep Water Aquatics

Deep water aquatic plants need to be planted at least one foot deep into the pond using proper containers. They grow till the surface of the water and perform the dual function of protecting the pond water from direct sunlight and beautifying the entire pond. An extremely popular deep water aquatic plant includes water lilies.

Make sure you research properly and include a combination of the above four types of aquatic plants in your water garden to make it lively and to ensure a healthy pond environment.