Choosing the right mix of plants is essential for a healthy and natural wildlife pond. All of our plants come with labels giving instructions on care and planting depth. Below we run through the different types of plants for a pond.
There are different types of plants for each part of a body of water, and these each have a different function. The image above shows the depth of each type of plant.
Emergent- ZONE 1- These plants are planted right on the edges of the pond in the damp soil. These would include any moisture loving plants like persicaria. They are available in a variety of colours and sizes so are great for providing impact to the edges, as well as hiding places for amphibians.
Marginal - ZONE 2 - These are include flowering plants, grasses and reeds. These sit under the water but on the marginal shelves, between 5cm and 15cm under the water. They provide colour and structure to your pond as well as providing shelter and nectar for wildlife. Dragonflies and mayflies will also use these plants to lay their eggs.
Deep Marginal - ZONE 3 - Like marginals these plants will still grow above the surface and flower or produce leaves, but they suit growing deeper in the margins, usually at a planting depth of 15-40cm. These are only suitable for larger and deeper ponds.
Deep Water - ZONE 4 - These plants include lilies, some flowering plants and some grasses. They sit at the very bottom of the water at hiding places as well as helping the pond stay clear because they grow up to the top the water and provide shade as their leaves develop.
Oxygenators - ZONE 4 - Oxygenators are as the name suggests. They can either sit on the bottom of the pond, the marginals, or can be deep water. Bottom oxygenators include hornwort and willow moss. Marginals include water hawthorn, milfoil and pennywort. Some oxygenators like water crowfoot sit deep in the pond but produce their leaves and flowers on the surface. The plant oxygenates under the water whilst providing shade on the surface.
Floating - ZONE 5 - floating plants include frogbit and water lettuce. They provide shade for the pond and any creatures living in it, as well as making the pond look nice. Some flower too.
How many plants should your pond have?
The number of plants you use is dependant on the size of your pond. If you have a small container pond, then you'll only need a small number of plants, maybe one small grass, one small reed, one flowering plant and one bunch of oxygenators. If you have a bigger pond you'll need more. Below we list the suggested number of plants per m2 of water.
Oxygenators - 3 bunches per m2
Lilies
Large lilies - one lily for every 2m² of water surface area
Medium lilies - one lily for every 1.5m² of water surface area
Small lilies - one lily for every 1m² of water surface area.
Miniature or pygmy lilies need only 1/2 m² of water surface area i.e. one lily for a tub or mini pond (ponds with less than 1m² of water surface area).
Marginals and deep marginals - 1 plant for every 50cm of shelf space
Floating - this is entirely up to you but you should try to give around 3/4 of the pond surface cover using a mix of floating and marginals/ lilies unless your pond sits in shade for a good part of the day.
Our pond plants are only available in store
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