Aquatic Plants are the foundation for every Water Garden. Not only do they provide beauty, but they also help balance the ecosystem. For your Fish – Pond Plants provide natural shelter from predators, and on those hot summer days they provide relief from the sun.
Aquatic Plants help balance the pond’s ecosystem and provide valuable biological filtration that removes nitrogen, ammonia, nitrates and other minerals from pond water. These excess nutrients are often the cause of unsightly water conditions such as algae blooms, tea colored water and more.
We Carry a Full Line of Pond Plants described below.
Visit our Online Store www.pondgeek.com to Purchase Plants (for Long Island only at this time) Or Call us Today at (516) 937 – FISH
Aquatic Plants can be classified into a few main categories:
Oxygenators & Floating plants:
Creeping Jenny & Parrots Feather
Oxygenators do exactly that . . . They oxygenate the water, but they also provide spawning grounds and hiding places for Fish and Frogs. Oxygenators include; Marestail, Water Penny Wort, Parrot’s Feather, Mermaid Weed and more. Floating Plants include; Water Hyacinths and Water Lettuce – these are annuals that get replaced every year, and are generally available in our area once the water temperature reaches 65 -70 degrees.
Marginal & Bog Plants:
Marginals are plants that thrive in soggy soils. Soil that is always covered with water . .or soil that occasionally dries out, and then becomes re-saturated. I’d compare these to the annuals & perennials that you’d plant in your home garden. Many plants that we have available for sale are Perennials – and will come back year after year. Bog Plants tend to be planted in wet grounds & gravel areas .. And can grow extremely large due to all the nutrients being filtered in your bog. Marginal & Bog plants naturally soften the rock edges of your pond, adding beauty with various bloom times, colors & textures! Some of our favorites include; Bluebells, Canna’s, Taro’s, Dwarf Papyrus, Dwarf Umbrella Palms, Horsetail, Hibiscus, Corkscrew Rush, Yellow Creeping Jenny, Pickerelweeds and More!!
As with your traditional annuals & perennials placement regarding sun & shade, and water depth is important to pay attention to.
Hardy & Tropical Water Lilies & Lotus:
Attraction Hardy Water Lily
These are some of the most beautiful flowers available for your pond. Flowers generally last 2-4 days, and if fertilized with continue to bloom throughout the season. Hardy Water Lilies with continue to come back year after year, larger and larger. Tropical Lilies for our zone, need to be removed from your pond in the fall and stored indoors – once the water temperature is warm enough (about 65-70 degrees) they can be replanted in your pond. As with most flowers, removing spent flowers and leaves will help with growth of your plant. Lilies can also be divided and re-potted in your pond in the Spring when they start to over take an area of your pond. For some customers, Fish become a problem when introducing a Lily to the pond. If you find your fish start beating up your lily pads, let us know!! We then suggest using a Lily Protector, which tends to ward off the fish – giving your lily a chance to grow . .and with time, once your Fish lose interest – the Lily Protector can be removed! As with marginal plants, Lilies shouldn’t be planted deeper than about 24″ . .Please keep this in mind when incorporating a lily into your pond. The plant should be gradually lowered into your pond. Lotus are a beautiful warm weather plant to add to your pond. They need 2-3 months of 75- 85 degrees to bloom. Their flowers range from 4-12″, and will open for about 3 days. They have large bluish-gray leaves, that stand above the water . . And can be 12-30″ wide. Lotus are generally available later in the season, to ensure the weather doesn’t shock these beauties!
Aquatic Plants can be further broken down into Tropical & Hardy plants. Hardy plants will over-winter in our zone 7 area and will be cut-back in the Fall and left inside your pond. Tropical plants can be used as annuals and will be removed from your pond in the fall and must be stored indoors (at customers preference – or simply replaced in May).
During your Spring Clean Out is the ideal time to remove, divide, re-pot, & fertilize all of your Aquatic Plants.
The Fish Guy carries all your Aquatic Plant supply needs, Including;
- Floating Plant Islands
- Various Aquatic Planters – for Marginals, Lilies & Lotus
- Plant Fertilizers
- Pond Plant Soil
We Offer Planting in May to all of our Customers, to ensure the plants are in the right places, are fertilized, and secured!
Product Spotlight:
Wanvisa Hardy Water Lily
The Wanvisa was the winner of the 2010 IWGS Best New Water Lily of the Year award, and also their Collector’s Aquatic Plants of the Year for 2011
Characteristics and Requirements are:
- Hardy Zones: 3-11
- Planting Depth: 12-15″ over crown.
- Spread: 4-5′ diameter.
- Foliage: Leaves are heavily marbled.
- Sunlight: 6-8 hours of direct sun.
- Flower: Extremely unique peachy-orange petals with flecks of cream. Some flowers may have large blotches or entire petals of cream or yellow.
- Recommended Pot Size:
- Minimum – 10” Fabric Pot or 10”x6” Plastic Pot
- Better – 16” Fabric Pot or 16”x7” Plastic Pot