aquatic & plant life
Home is where the heart is; your space should live up to this.
WATER PLANTS:
Water plants are a must when you have a pond. As well as looking beautiful, they will help your pond to blend in with the rest of the garden. They also provide breeding places for water wildlife, such as dragonflies and fish. By shading the water they help to control the temperature. Their roots absorb nutrients that might otherwise foul the water, and submerged oxygenating plants are the ponds very own ‘air conditioners’.
Types of water plant
Submerged aquatics live completely under water. They are the oxygenating plants you often see releasing streams of air bubbles in sunlight. Some types are more efficient oxygenators than others.
Deep-water aquatics have their roots in water that is 18 in or more in depth. Their leaves stand out above the water or float on the surface.
Marginal plants grow in the shallow water around the edge of a pond in planting baskets standing submerged in water.
Free-floating plants drift about on the surface of the pond with their roots dangling in the water.
Choose a mixture of plants for seasonal flowers and structural shapes, which also benefit the pond ecosystem.
Already have a pond? Find out how to breathe new life into your pond with a pond aerator or full excavation.
Water lily
Latin name: Nymphaea ‘Marliacea Chromatella’
Common name: Water lily
Type of plant: Deep water aquatic
Planting depth: Crown must be under 22cm to 30cm (9in-12in) of water
Hardiness: Hardy
Flower color: Golden yellow
Height and spread: Spreads to 1.2m (4ft)
Description: Attractively marbled leaves
Tips: Needs at least six hours of sun a day to flower well. The leaves create shade in the water and help control temperature. They also hide fish from predators. The roots remove excess nutrients from water. This plant doesn't like moving water so don't grow it near a fountain or waterfall.
Latin name: Cotula coronopifolia
Common name: Golden buttons
Type of plant: Annual marginal pond plant
Planting depth: Up to 15cm (6in) of water over top of planting basket
Hardiness: Killed by frost
Flower color: Yellow
Height and spread:15cm (6in) high x 30cm (12in) spread
Description: South African plant with daisy-like button flowers for most of the summer.
Tips: Good for creating a colorful pond edge all summer, self-seeds for a natural effect.
Golden buttons
Pond-weed
Latin name: Lagarosiphon major
Common name: Pond-weed
Type of plant: Submerged oxygenating plant
Planting depth: 25cm (10in) to 75cm (30in)
Hardiness: Hardy
Flower color: No flowers
Height and spread: 2m to 3m (6ft to 9.8ft) wide spreading strands outlined with short, curly leaves
Tips: Plant one bunch for about every square meter of surface area to ensure good water oxygenation. Thin out excess growth regularly in the summer to prevent it swamping the pond. Brilliant oxygenation, and being evergreen it also works in winter. The stems hide baby fish from predators.
Latin name: Stratiotes aloides
Common name: Water soldier
Type of plant: Free-floating aquatic
Hardiness: Hardy
Flower color: White but rarely flowers
Height and spread: 30cm x 30cm (1ft x 1ft)
Description: Spiky, pineapple-shaped plant bobbing about in the water. Makes a good contrast to saucer-shaped water lilies, the linear stems of irises and other marginal plants.
Tips: Be prepared to thin out excess growth to prevent it swamping the pond. Removes excess nutrients from pond water.
Water Soldier
Kingcup
Latin name: Caltha palustris
Common name: Kingcup or marsh marigold
Type of plant: Marginal and bog plant
Hardiness: Hardy
Flower color: Yellow
Height and spread: 25cm x 45cm (10in x 18in)
Description: Chunky British native plant with giant buttercup-like flowers.
Tips: Cut foliage down in summer if it looks scruffy, to encourage a neat new batch to set off summer-flowering marginals.
Latin name: Iris laevigata
Common name: Water iris
Type of plant: Marginal
Hardiness: Hardy
Flower color: Purple
Height and spread: 80cm x 30cm (32in x 1ft)
Description: Architectural plants with fan-like foliage and spectacular, large, typical iris-shaped flowers produced in early summer.
Tips: Use where the foliage contrasts with bushier waterside plants as the flowering season is short.
Water Iris
Lobelia
Latin name: Lobelia 'Queen Victoria'
Common name: Lobelia
Type of plant: Short-lived marginal
Hardiness: Half hardy
Flower color: Red
Height and spread: 90cm x 30cm (3ft x 1ft)
Description: Unlike bedding lobelias, it is a tall, upright perennial with purple-red leaves and red flowers.
Tips: A real eye-catcher deserving pride of place in your planting scheme, where its bold colors are set off by plenty of green foliage.
Latin name: Typha minima
Common name: Bulrush
Type of plant: Marginal
Hardiness: Hardy
Flower color: Brown
Height and spread: 75cm x 45cm (30in x 18in)
Description: Miniature bulrush, with narrow reed-like foliage and short, stumpy brown heads in summer.
Tips: Leave plants standing as late as possible in autumn and winter for the shapes and bulrush seed-heads.
Bulrush
Arum Lily
Latin name: Zantedeschia aethiopica 'Crowborough'
Common name: Arum lily
Type of plant: Marginal
Hardiness: Half hardy
Flower color: White
Height and spread: 90cm x 60cm (3ft x 2ft)
Description: Architectural plants with large, arrow-shaped foliage and big white arum flowers in mid-summer.
Tips: Stand pots in deeper water than is usual for marginal plants. The layer of water insulates the roots in winter, protecting them from cold.
