Planting a pond

[snico]

Hi, need a little info from any very experienced pond owners,

I need to replant my pond with some marginal and oxygenating plants etc

The problem is, the shelving in the pond is not ideal, they have a slight slope and are not very wide. Can anyone recommend a a way of having some plants put in, I would like some that give some coverage all year round too

This is a diagram of what the pond looks like, and yes I got an F in art

 

[crazycanuck]

If the shelves are wide enough you could leave plants in shallow pots under water.
Or place medium rocks on ledges to support plants while they root.

 

[snico]

Yeah I will try that, thanks

 

[Thermo]

most aquatic plants will come in small plastic cages. you can buy larger ones to plant a range of them in. They can simply be placed in position and held in place by some pieces of stone, and the bottom levelled up in the same way

 

[roberta1000]

Aquatic plants for round the edge of the pond (marginals) will have labels which tell you what planting depth they prefer. If you stick them in just any old depth the weaker ones won't do so well or might not do at all.

If you get any that are going to grow more than say a foot or so tall they will want to blow over or wander out to the middle of the pond and sink there. So put them in as big a basket as you can put up with and fill it with a mixture of heavy earth and stones then use bits of slabs or bricks to get them level and the right depth (it's measured from the surface to the top of the earth).

If you are having fish (there's no point in oxygenators unless you do) remember to put plenty of stones on top of the baskets or the fish will root around and dig the earth out. Don't get 'elodia densa' or you'll be forever fishing it out when it has completely clogged the pond up. IMHO you don't need oxygenators and they don't add to the appearance. If you've got fish you're better with a waterfall or fountain.

A water lily or 2 is a nice touch. They go in baskets in the deep bit of the pond. Different varieties like different depths so measure it first. One of the good things is that the leaves shade the water a bit and help reduce algae growth. Fish like sheltering under them too.

 

[snico]

I already have Koi, Sturgeon etc in the pond. I have had the pond for a good few years now. It was mainly a koi pond but I am going to stock the pond with plants this year, the pond is pretty big so I need about 40-50% coverage. Thanks for the ideas!

Steve