Five Easy Fish Pond Plants To Grow

If you’ve added this type of water feature to your home, the next step is to find the right types of fish pond plants – but some are easier to grow than others. 

While most people already know that gardening is good for us, science has also proven that spending time near water is great for our wellbeing too. With a handful of the benefits including slowing our heart rates, boosting mental health and reducing stress hormones, it’s no surprise adding a water feature to a garden is a trend on the rise. 

For some people, this translates as frequent trips to the beach, while for others, they instead opt to add a body of water to their garden. Moving water, such as waterfalls, rills or fountains, energizes the outdoor environment with sound and movement. In contrast, still water, such as an aquatic garden or a fish pond, brings the feeling of quiet and calm. 

However, the magic of adding a water feature to your garden is closely tied to your choice of plants. If you’re debating this type of addition, choosing the right floating plants can have an enormous influence on the finished product – so how do you get it right?

How To Choose Floating Plants For Your Fish Pond

From a logistics perspective, most people pursue the option of a fish pond in their garden as the easiest way to create a water feature. Apart from the actual fish, one could easily argue that the fish pond plants form an integral role in tying the whole thing together. 

It’s also important to remember that your choice of fish pond plants have a bigger part to play than just covering the aesthetics. Floating plants provide shelter for the fish, produce oxygen and keep algae in check. 

In fact, most agree that it’s necessary to have four types of fish pond plants – oxygenators at the bottom of the pond, floaters on the surface, submersibles such as water lilies and marginal or bog plants. For aquatic floating plants, the following options are considered to be the easiest to grow and keep happy in a fish pond. 

Fairy Moss – Despite what the name would suggest, fairy moss is actually a type of aquatic fern. As it floats freely on the surface of a pond, fairy moss shades the water as it spreads, and helps to reduce algae growth. In addition, koi are known to love nibbling on these floating plants, and growing it is as simple as adding some clumps to the water and leaving it alone. 

Water Lilies – As a classic staple for any fish pond, water lilies are imperative for providing shade and shelter not just for the fish themselves, but to visiting pollinators such as dragonflies and bees. The plants feed through their roots – which are suspended in the water – and use the nutrients to help suppress algae. 

Duckweed – In the right amounts, duckweed can be beneficial to a pond’s ecosystem. Birds and other wildlife consume duckweed, but if too much of it is present in a pond, it can suck up all of the oxygen sources. Also known as water lentils or bayroots, duckweed can be a source of food for fish, and helps to suppress the growth of algae and toxins. 

Mosaic Pond Plant – The beautiful mosaic plant consists of red and green diamond-shaped leaves in three- to six-inch wide rosettes. In the summer, this floating plant produces sunny yellow cup-shaped flowers. Regarded as extremely easy to grow, the plant provides a place for your finned friends to hide underneath. 

Water Lettuce – Water lettuce is great for cleaning the water of decomposition byproducts, and is often used to keep water sources healthy for fish and aquatic life in domestic settings. This plant also reduces algae blooms by blocking sunlight in the water, and by using up the nutrients needed for the algae to bloom.

After the plants have been placed in the pond, it is best to allow them at least two weeks to get established before adding any fish. When disposing of excess floating plants, put them into your compost bin or use them as a high nutrient compost in your garden. Take special precautions not to dispose of them near waterways, as while floating plants may be great in your residential controlled environment, they can easily run wild in native settings. 

Ultimately, the more you’re able to encourage a self-sufficient and sustainable ecosystem, the happier all of the residents of your garden will be. While adding a fishpond to your garden is a great way to encourage pollinators and native bird life to pay a visit to your backyard, using chemical based pesticides and herbicides can negatively affect not just their health, but yours as well – so what’s the alternative? 

Introducing A Safer Way To Spray 

Bioweed is an organic, non selective weed killer that works fast on contact with the weed, in order to rapidly desiccate and burn even the most stubborn of plants. It can be used anywhere around the house including garden beds, veggie patches, paths and driveways, and is safe to use around children, animals and even native wildlife. 

The best part? Bioweed is the brainchild of well established agricultural leaders greenPRO, and is backed by over twenty years of research and development. Owned and manufactured in Australia, the primary ingredient of Bioweed is actually sustainably sourced pine oil, and is even approved by NASAA, ACO and APVMA for use around organic farms and food production. 

If you’re on the hunt for a nature friendly weed killer, or simply want to know more about eliminating weeds safely – check out other tips and tricks in our online advice forum, or contact us for any further queries.