Adding aquatic plants to your pond is a great way of creating a relaxing space. Watching the leaves float gently on the water is calming. Thankfully, you don’t need to dedicate hours to your pond to take care of these plants. Here are a few simple tips to help aquatic plants thrive.

Choose the Right Plant

There are dozens of varieties that you can choose from. You might prefer the bright colours of a water lily or the green of a leafy plant. You can even pick one that fish can eat. When deciding what plants you want to use, consider your local area. Most importantly, the temperature ranges that you will experience throughout the year. It’s also vital to consider the amount of light the pond receives.

Often, it’s best to use a variety of plants. For example, you might use floating plants in the middle of the pond. You can then add some varieties that thrive in wet soil around the outside. It’s also a good idea to get some filter plants. These tend to have shallow root systems. These will be able to stop algae from becoming a big problem.

Establishing the Plants

Once you know what plants you want to get, it’s time to order them and get them established in the pond. The way that you do this will depend on the type of plant you have. If you have a floating plant, you will need to put them into a bucket of water when you get them. Keep them in a shady area for two days. This will give them some time to rehydrate. Next, you’ll want to move the bucket into the sun. As you’re doing this, keep the sensitive root systems under the water. After a few days, you can transfer them to the pond.

If you have a submerged plant, you can skip this process. All you need to do is put the plant in a planter box and fill it with small gravel. This will give it a place to grow and weigh it down to keep it underwater. The pot will also keep them from shifting about in the water, which can disturb the root system. Then, you can put it into the pond.

The best time to add plants to your pond will be during the spring and summer months. This is when they will be more active, growing quickly. You can still add plants during the winter, but don’t expect to see a lot of growth until the warmer weather hits.

Trimming the Plants

When you see strong growth, you’ll need to trim your plants. This keeps your pond looking tidy. Often, trimming them will be as easy as cutting off the excess stems. Once you are done, you can add this material to the compost heap.

Oxygenating the Water

You must aerate the water. This ensures that your plants will get the right amount of oxygen. There are several ways that you can do this. For example, some people use waterfalls. Others will use fountains or below-the-surface pumps. Love My Pond has lots of aerator options, making it easy to find the perfect one for you.

You’ll also need to regulate the water levels. Throughout the day, you’ll lose water to evaporation. The easy solution to this is to install a float. Once it drops to a certain level, the pond will automatically be refilled.

Removing Dead Plant Material

When you have plants in your pond, you will also need to deal with a lot of dead plant material, things like leaves. These will drop to the bottom of the pond, where they will settle. This can be a problem as they will release toxic gases as they break down. The easiest way to deal with this is using a pond vacuum. This will suck up this material and return clean water. However, you might want to leave a small amount of sludge, which can contain beneficial nutrients. There are plenty of high-quality pond vacuums to choose from, this guide will help you pick the right one for you.


Guest post by Nora Held from Backyard Style

Starting from 2016, Backyard Style’s experts share their knowledge on planting, composting, and poultry care, to name a few.

Apart from being Backyard Style’s main writer, Nora Held also works for a number of gardening-related sites and magazines, sharing her experience as an owner of a small farm in North Carolina.