What is the best plant to put in a pond?
Answer: Some of the best pond plants include Blue Flag Iris, Sweet Flag, Water Lilies, Mosaic Pond Plant, Pickerelweed, and Creeping Jenny. These options are generally easy to maintain, thrive in different pond zones, and offer great color and texture. Water Lilies and Lotuses are two more great options. As these plants mature, they produce a green canopy above the water surface. For best algae-controlling results, it is important to cover at least half of the pond water surface with floating plants.Ensure plenty of light reaches the pond by pruning back overhanging branches and brushing off any snow. This will allow submerged plants and algae to continue to photosynthesise and replenish oxygen levels in the water. Consider adding more oxygenating plants in spring if you don’t have many.Heavy rain events like spring thunderstorms can introduce large amounts of water to a pond and cause these varying zones of dissolved oxygen to mix quickly or turn over rapidly. For aquatic life like fish and frogs, dissolved oxygen levels are optimum at around 8–10 parts per million (ppm).Barley straw and hydrogen peroxide This method offers a more natural and gentle approach to algae control, and it does not harm other aquatic organisms or upset the delicate pond balance. You can also skip the barley straw and add hydrogen peroxide directly to the pond.
When can I buy pond plants?
The optimum time for most potted pond plants is late winter/early spring, as this means that they go in their new pots with fresh soil and food just before they start to grow, so they get the most benefit from this. A variety of different pond plants is best! Have a mixture of submerged, floating and emergent plants. They’ll each bring different qualities and benefits to your pond and its inhabitants. Avoid adding water from an existing pond, as this can risk introducing disease and unwelcome plants and animals.Hardy Plants Simply leave plants in their pots in the deepest area of the pond (24” – 30” will suffice). The foliage of cattails, sedges or rushes can be left standing for winter interest.The plants in your pond provide food, shade, and protection for the fish and wildlife that live in and around the pond. They also provide areas for fish to spawn and a safe place for frogs and toads to lay their eggs.
Which plants oxygenate water the best?
For spring and winter water-crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis) is to be recommended and in summer and autumn hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), pondweed or waterweed are to be preferred. We recommend adding water lilies, hornwort, and anacharis to your pond. These plants compete with algae for nutrients, starving them out naturally. Tadpoles and certain fish species also eat algae. Koi and goldfish nibble on algae, helping to keep it in check.Some of the best pond plants include Blue Flag Iris, Sweet Flag, Water Lilies, Mosaic Pond Plant, Pickerelweed, and Creeping Jenny. These options are generally easy to maintain, thrive in different pond zones, and offer great color and texture.Use a pond rake (not in a linered pond) or net to gently clear the pond surface of floating algae and debris. Be careful not to disturb any wildlife or disrupt the pond bed. For submerged algae and residue, consider using an algae brush and a pond vacuum which can remove waste without causing too much disturbance.Chlorine is still one of the most effective killers of algae so doing a super-chlorination of 10-20 ppm of chlorine can go a long way towards wiping out the algae. Liquid chlorine is an ideal shock for algae because it is fast acting and does not add cyanuric acid (CYA) or calcium to the water.Chemical Algae Treatments For fine planktonic algae that causes green water, Algae D-Solv or other liquid chemicals are a great option. If you’re fighting filamentous (string) algae, then a granular form such as AlgaeOff is more effective since it makes better contact with the algae.
Can there be too many oxygenating plants in a pond?
Yes, you can have too many oxygenating pond plants. During the photosynthesis process, plants consume oxygen during the darker hours – even oxygenating ones. This can then have the opposite effect than hoped and lead to an unhealthy environment for your pond’s inhabitants. Yes, there are several indoor plants that release oxygen 24 hours a day. These include Snake Plants, Orchids, and Christmas Cactus. Their unique photosynthesis process allows them to emit oxygen even after sunset, making them ideal for indoor and nighttime environments.