Planting Your Pond Plants
Planting Pond Plants: Planting pond plants is similar to planting other forms of plants in that you have to be aware of the right soil conditions, types of pots, correct planting techniques, fertilizer needs, and pond plant maintenance after planting. What makes water gardening unique is that the pond plants you are growing live in a under water environment. Things like depth, temperature, and what to do with your plants during the winter now become a issue.
The Right Soil for Your Pond Plants: Water lotus, water lilies, and other pond plants do best when they are planted in fertilizer free plain top soil. This type of soil is generally well balanced nutritionally and will support great growth. Commercial potting mixes are not used because they are too lightweight and contain fertilizers that are not safe for your pond fish.
Plant Pot's or no Plant Pot's: Planting your pond plants in plant pots is starting to become an out dated way to plant aquatic plants. Most new ponds have plant pockets dug during the excavation of the pond before the pond liner goes into place. Once the liner is installed you can fill your plant pockets in with good top soil and plant your plants. You will then cover the soil with gravel to keep the dirt from leaching into your pond. This looks 100% more natural than looking at a bunch of plastic pots taking up space in your pond. If you own an existing pond with no plant pockets, or a pre-formed pond, plant pots will just have to do.
Potting Your New Pond Plants: Take your plant pot and fill itwith good top soil just leaving one inch below the top of the plant pot. using your fingers dig a deep hole to fit your pond plants root system. Place the entire root system in the dug hole, fill in with topsoil. Cover the top of the pot with gravel to keep your soil from leaching out of the pot. Since all of the plants we sell come to you bare root, planting our plants is a breeze. If you are planting water lotus take your new tuber and place it in aged pond water in the sun. wait for it to sprout before you pot it. Place the non-growing end of the tuber in your excavated hole with the sprouts so they sit just above the surface of the gravel after you fill everything in with topsoil.
Planting Your Submerged Pond Plants: Planting your submerged plants is easy. If you have gravel in the bottom of your pond you can plant them right in the gravel they do not require soil to thrive like lilies, and lotus do. The reason is that these plants take in nutrition not only from their root system, but also their leaves.
Planting Your Floating Plants: Planting your floating plants is easy simply place them on the surface of your pond. If you have a pond skimmer, you will have to place them along the edges of your pond locked behind your bog plants so they do not get sucked into the skimmer.
Planting Your Marginal Plants: If you have a gravel and rock pond with planting shelves designed for marginal plants, you can plant them right in your pond gravel on your shelves. If not you can plant them in pots and set them to the proper height in your pond. Just make sure the top of your pot is no lower than 1"inch below the waters surface.
Winter Pond Plant Maintenance: All of the plants that we sell are winter hardy perennials meaning they will come back every spring looking bigger and more beautiful each season. The only exception is our floating plants, and our submerged plants. These pond plants are semi tropical and will need to be replaced in the spring. Submerged plants do come back every spring but not all of them will make it and normally require that you thicken them up with new plants every season. When your plants leaves start to turn brown in late fall you can take a pair of scissors and cut your water lilies, and bog plants, right down to the gravel or pot substrate surface. This will remove the dead foliage that would otherwise contribute to algae growth. Take your floating plants and throw them in the trash or compost pile at the end of the season.
The Right Soil for Your Pond Plants: Water lotus, water lilies, and other pond plants do best when they are planted in fertilizer free plain top soil. This type of soil is generally well balanced nutritionally and will support great growth. Commercial potting mixes are not used because they are too lightweight and contain fertilizers that are not safe for your pond fish.
Plant Pot's or no Plant Pot's: Planting your pond plants in plant pots is starting to become an out dated way to plant aquatic plants. Most new ponds have plant pockets dug during the excavation of the pond before the pond liner goes into place. Once the liner is installed you can fill your plant pockets in with good top soil and plant your plants. You will then cover the soil with gravel to keep the dirt from leaching into your pond. This looks 100% more natural than looking at a bunch of plastic pots taking up space in your pond. If you own an existing pond with no plant pockets, or a pre-formed pond, plant pots will just have to do.
Potting Your New Pond Plants: Take your plant pot and fill itwith good top soil just leaving one inch below the top of the plant pot. using your fingers dig a deep hole to fit your pond plants root system. Place the entire root system in the dug hole, fill in with topsoil. Cover the top of the pot with gravel to keep your soil from leaching out of the pot. Since all of the plants we sell come to you bare root, planting our plants is a breeze. If you are planting water lotus take your new tuber and place it in aged pond water in the sun. wait for it to sprout before you pot it. Place the non-growing end of the tuber in your excavated hole with the sprouts so they sit just above the surface of the gravel after you fill everything in with topsoil.
Planting Your Submerged Pond Plants: Planting your submerged plants is easy. If you have gravel in the bottom of your pond you can plant them right in the gravel they do not require soil to thrive like lilies, and lotus do. The reason is that these plants take in nutrition not only from their root system, but also their leaves.
Planting Your Floating Plants: Planting your floating plants is easy simply place them on the surface of your pond. If you have a pond skimmer, you will have to place them along the edges of your pond locked behind your bog plants so they do not get sucked into the skimmer.
Planting Your Marginal Plants: If you have a gravel and rock pond with planting shelves designed for marginal plants, you can plant them right in your pond gravel on your shelves. If not you can plant them in pots and set them to the proper height in your pond. Just make sure the top of your pot is no lower than 1"inch below the waters surface.
Winter Pond Plant Maintenance: All of the plants that we sell are winter hardy perennials meaning they will come back every spring looking bigger and more beautiful each season. The only exception is our floating plants, and our submerged plants. These pond plants are semi tropical and will need to be replaced in the spring. Submerged plants do come back every spring but not all of them will make it and normally require that you thicken them up with new plants every season. When your plants leaves start to turn brown in late fall you can take a pair of scissors and cut your water lilies, and bog plants, right down to the gravel or pot substrate surface. This will remove the dead foliage that would otherwise contribute to algae growth. Take your floating plants and throw them in the trash or compost pile at the end of the season.
