Plant Care

Whether you are seeking plant information on planting zones to how deep to plant your new plants, we can provide solid advice, gleened from the pages of Mary's book. You can find both water garden plant guides to zone maps and regular garden plant and houseplant guides. Here is info on water plants as herbs and edible food. For more information on the book, contact us.

What's the diff?

The categories water plants fall into are listed above. Bog plants are in boggy, extremely wet soil or pea gravel as a substrate. Often the term Vegetable Filter comes from the combination of plants eating sludge and other impurities through their roots. Usually the pond's water is run through this biological filter as a way to naturally filter the water as is done in nature. Edging plants are those plants used to hide liner from the damaging UV rays or to break up the "rock necklace" look of a manmade pond. The roots of these plants will root in the soil around the liner or directly in the water with no soil. Floaters are free floating water plants with roots that hang below the plant. These are good for shading the pond and eating impurities straight out of the water. These, along with oxygenators will suck the life right out of algae. Oxygenators hang below the surface, like seaweed, and compete for the sun, winning the battle with string algae and the algae "pea soup" appearance of your pond in the spring. Water lilies are the aromatic floating lily blooms and lily pads. We do from time to time get lotus, but most are pick up only, and they go very, very fast. If you would like to order a tuber, do so in January as they can only be shipped while dormant.

That leaves regular garden plants, houseplants, and succulents. These vary from time to time, so be sure to check with us if you don't see what you are looking for. These are basically plants that need a new home due to space considerations.

POND PLANT CARE
planting instructions

Oxygenators Plants
Separate out seaweed-like strands and throw in pond. (The roots may anchor plants, for most nutrients are injested from the water and are absorbed by the leaves.)

Bog Plants
Line a pot (no holes in the bottom (7-9" wide for small plants, 11-14" wide for large plants like Thalia) with an old nylon stocking footie. Place clay or heavy compact soil in the pot bottom. Add fertilizer tablets and fill remaining space. Carve out a hole in the middle and put the plant in, making sure all roots are covered in soil. Knot stocking fairly close to plant (leave room for sprouts). Top with 1+" mexican beach pebbles or gravel to prevent media from washing away. Position the pot so that the top is just below the water surface.

Floating Plants
Unwrap new plants and carefully spread out the roots and leaves. Rinse to rid it of bad water, leaches, and other things you don't want in your pond. Float each plant on the surface of the pond. (These plants feed directly from the water through their roots so no ferti!izeris necessary.) Occasionally. thin out floating plants so that no more than 70% of the pond's surface is covered, to allow sunlight to reach fish and other vegetation in the pond.

Water Lily Plants
Lilies should be planted in pots (no holes in bottom & 8-10" wide work for Dwarf lilies,  regular lilies use the 14" size). Place clay or heavy compact soil in the pot bottom and then place roots in the pot with growing tip upwards. Then add fertilizer tablets and fill remaining spacewith soil. Submerge the lily so that the leaves are at least 6" below the water surface. As the leaves grow to the surface of the pond, gradually lower the container until it is 12-18" below the water surface.