A pond is a wonderful feature in the outdoors. This offers a relaxing atmosphere from where to relax after a hard day at work. Maintaining and keeping your pond looking good and smelling fresh requires adding plants, a pump, and a fountain. Plants are highly effective at offering a natural balance and seamless maintenance of your pond.
Why add plants into your pond
Limiting algae growth
Adding plants into your pond allows blocking sunlight from reaching the water depth. This inhibits unsightly algae from blooming in your pond. The presence of algae clogs filters and makes the pond water to turn murky. Additionally, pond plants use water nutrients limiting algae from thriving. This keeps the water in your pond always clear and smelling fresh.
Shelter for fish
It is a great idea to keep fish in your pond. Additionally, a pond is likely to attract other aquatic animals including frogs. Keep in mind that the pond might also attract predators that prey on fish and other aquatic organisms. Luckily, plants shelter the fish from these predators. Additionally, the plants are a wonderful source of food for fish and other aquatic organisms. Adding plants in your pond encourages the lifecycle.
Oxygenating the water
Oxygen is essential in a pond for fish to thrive. Lack of enough oxygen makes aquatic organisms to die leading to a stench from your pond. Luckily, looking for pond fountain encourages water movement. This eliminates bad odor and encourages oxygenation of the deeper ends of the pond.
The fountain and plants work together to maintain the appropriate oxygen level in the water for fish to thrive. Inappropriate oxygen makes aquatic animals prone to poor health and disease. Additionally, the lack of oxygen encourages the thriving of algae. So, encouraging water movement and appropriate oxygen keeps algae at bay.
Water filtration
Plants naturally filter water in a pond. These absorb nutrients from water to keep it looking pristine. Keep in mind that sickly and overcrowded plants are unsightly on a pond. Additionally, the plants are likely to die off encouraging excess debris making the water turn murky. Therefore, you have to balance the plants for efficient natural filtration of your pond water. Equally important is always being on the lookout for dead plants and leaves to remove them from the pond.
Natural blend
Ponds are made from different materials. However, adding plants on the pond water softens the barrier between the pond and the rest of the yard. This makes the setting look more organic for a natural landscape. With this, you end up without any stiff artificial boundaries. Well-chosen plants are very effective at masking your external pond equipment including pipes, pumps, fences, and posts.
Enhancing aesthetics
Plants make a lovely feature when added to your pond. These come in various options including those with rare foliage colors and shapes. Additionally, some plants have interesting growth habits and aquatic blooms to add visual interest to the pond. This makes adding plants to your pond a trick to make it become a stunning waterscape in your outdoors for years.
How to choose plants for your pond
Plants look great on any pond. However, the choice of plants matter. Plants for ponds come in various options and have varied features to make them suitable for a particular pond. Poor choice of plants inhibits the beauty of your waterscape. Other plants are overcrowding leading to clogging of the pond. Keep in mind that plants thrive in different climatic conditions and match particular pond shape.
Considerations when selecting plants for your pond include:
- Amount of light needed in the pond
- Mature growth size of the plants
- Shape, color, height, and variety of plants
- The ability of fish to feed on the plants
- The ability of the plants to withstand sudden changes in temperature
Type of plants to include in your pond
It is very important to understand the choice of plants to include in your pond. This is very important since plants have to cover about 60 percent of the pond surface for the ideal water protection and creation of a healthy environment for the plants. The types of plants for a pond include:
- Floating plants including parrot’s feather, water lettuce, and frogbit
- Bog plants extend above the water surface including rushes, cattails, irises, and water Hawthorne
- Submerged plants including water moss, red ludwigia, hornwort, and curled pondweed
Understanding the types of plants allows selecting the best vegetation for your pond for a thriving aquatic ecosystem. Equally important is the following guidelines for keeping the plants on your pond. This is key to keep a healthy and attractive pond to enjoy always.
Bottom line
Adding plants and a fountain is the most important feature to add to your pond. These encourage oxygenation for aquatic life to thrive while limiting the presence of bad odors from your pond. Pond plants and fountains come in various options, understanding what is available allows selecting the most appropriate for your pond.
