Planting
Opinions, and use of, pond plants are a very personal choice as are the plants in the rest of the garden, in the same way that one person's preferred plants are another's weeds. No one can define which plants are the right ones for your pond, the right ones are the ones you choose that grow well in your pond.Hopefully, you will have planting shelves or ledges in your pond for positioning plants, if not, there are options. Either build up shelves with bricks or blocks (make sure they will not taint the water or adversely alter the ponds pH) or make use of large, perforated plastic trays or creates generally used for transport and storage.
There are some guide lines to help you define your choices:
Planting Zones
Different plants need different conditions. With pond plants, not only is the situation (full sun/shade) pertinent, the optimum depth of water is key. There are four basic planting group although lilies, being such a diverse habit plant, deserve a class of their own:Marginals
The largest and most diverse range of of pond plants are the marginals, so called because they will establish on the margins of the pond. Some are 'bog' plants that will grow best partially in the water, others up to 10 inch (25cm) below the surface. Once established, most of the defined planting depth can be varied to a certain extent. Thankfully, the majority of commercially available pond plants are sold with planting advice defining the suitable depths and situation for each plant.Deep Marginals
A far smaller group of plants, deep marginals may often take a season to establish properly and should not be planted any shallower than advised as they will be scorched, or frost damaged, in too little water.Deep Water
'Deep' is usually defined as more than 18 inch(45cm) below the surface. Although these plants may cope in shallower water during mild weather they will need to be lowered into their preferred depth as they grow.Lilies
Although generally considered a deep water plant, Pygmy Lilies can cope with relatively shallow planting, a minimum of 6 inch (15cm) is recommended. Large habit lilies are usually more at home in 2ft - 3ft (60-90cm) of water, there are few that will be able to grow in more than 4ft(120cm). Lilies are not fans of fast moving or splashing water and will grow away from any turbulence, they are best suited to calm areas of the pond. They require lowering into their preferred depth gradually as do other deep water plants. All will require fertilising at least annually, spring and autumn would be better, otherwise they will establish slower in the spring and may not flower.Floating
On the surface, clearly, is the position for floating plants. Some 'floaters' will merrily colonise margins and pond edges, others will prefer to be adriff in deeper water. Few floating plants will thrive in fast moving or turbulent water. Their floating root provide an ideal habitat for small pond creatures.Reproduced by permission of Blagdon / Interpet. The encyclopedia of ponds is 208 pages of readable pond fact and hints and available from Pond Pumps Direct Click Here To Buy Mini Encyclopedia
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