Advice on pond plants

Plants come in a variety of different forms, they add elegance, beauty and can also make the pond look more natural. Apart from their aesthetic appeal they also play an important functional role in the pond.

The first being photosynthesis, plants during the day produce beneficial oxygen, also using up carbon dioxide. This process is illustrated in the picture to the below:

Plants can also absorb a wide range of compounds present in the water, which helps reduce the build up of toxic or pollution generating substances.

Their foliage provides excellent shade over the water, this shade helps retard or discourage algae or blanket weed growth, the nightmare of any pond keeper. Also shading from the plants provides a block from dangerous ultra-violet light from the sun, which can cause cancer growth in koi.

Plant roots and submerge stems provide excellent shelter for young fish fry.

The main categories of plants that live in ponds are:

Marginal....
These are normally found in the shallow outside edges of the pond, they help conceal the outside edges of the pond, providing a more natural looking backdrop. These are normally planted in aquatic plant containers, which allow water to flow through the sides aswell as the bottom. There are too many marginal plants for me to list, so I am going to show a few that are present in my garden.

Floating....
Floating plants achieve buoyancy by trapping air in their leaves or stems and in the case of a lilly plant underneath it's leaves. Plants such as Myriophyllum Aquaticum (parrot's Feather) can grow very fast in the summer, so they will require some thinning to avoid over crowding.

Submersible plants....
This type of plant is a useful oxygenator, it also provides shelter for small fry and fish, but they can be a pain when they foul up your filtration system. This can become an increasing problem in the summer months, due to their quick growth rate.