As far as pond plants are concerned it is no secret that the most popular and most recognized of all pond plants is the water lily ,the water lily lives in the bottom of the pond in either a planter or self rooted in mud /sludge or pebbles on the floor of the garden pond. Apart from its beauty ,it like all other pond plants does serve another function, in that they feed off the nitrates found in the pond water that otherwise would become a food source for lower forms of plant life such as algae. That is why it is important that that all garden ponds even koi ponds should contain pond plants even if they are housed separately from the pond  fish in a bog garden or veggie filter as pond plants play a crucial role in in the nitrogen cycle of the garden pond which in turn is an essential part of any pond filter system.

When we think of pond plants it may be the water lily or the lotus that first springs to mind but there are in actual fact five quite distinctly separate groups of pond plants that may be included within any garden pond or water garden

these five types of pond plants are :-

Submerged oxygenating pond plants

totally submerged aquatic plants. These pond plants can not exist out of  water. They root on bottom of pond or float rootless under waters surface .

examples

Elodea canadensis.North American native (a smaller leaved version of the commonly sold tropical Anacharis)

Ceratophyl lumdemersum. Coontail, Hornwort.

Canadian pond weed

Deep water aquatic plants

that root strongly in bottom of pond.

Leaves float on water surface.

examples

Water lilies

lotus

water hawthorn

Floating pond plants

water plants that float on the pond surface pond

and are able to float freely around the

blown by wind or current

examples

water hyacinth

water lettuce

frogbit

duckweed

water soldiers

Bog plants

water plants that like to keep their feet wet ,

Wet mud is all that is necessary for these pond plants to do well.

examples

Marsh Marigold -caltha Palustris

Iris pseudacorus- yellow flag iris

Hemerocallis – day lily

Marginal pond plants

Marginals water plants  usually live

in about 3 to 6 inches of water. Many have beautiful flowers

examples

Equisetum scorpoides / Dwarf Horsetail Rush

Lobelia cardinalis / Cardinal Flower

Hostas

cannas

Ferns

This is just a short introductory page on pond plants in future posts I intend to go into more detail about each group of pond plants , the pond plants from each group that I have personally had success with. Regular garden plants that I have incorporated into my garden pond system. I also intend to cover the most useful plants for the veggie filter or bog filter , and the over wintering of tender pond plants indoors.