Water Ponds – Establishing Plants
For ponds, consider the mixture appears, submergent, and floating species. Plants appeared, those who have their roots in water but their shoots above water, can be added to the pool edge. This includes wetland plants (Typha spp.), Arrow (Sagittaria spp.), And water lilies (Nymphaea spp.). Submergent species, or those that remain under water such as elodea, are often used as oksigenator. These are plants that remove carbon dioxide from the water and add oxygen. Plants are very important in most ponds to keep water clear.
Floating species or those that are not anchored at all in the pond include plants such as duckweed (Lemna minor), water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). While attractive, water hyacinth and water lettuce can be a serious weed problem in the south, however, because they are not winter hardy, there is no problem with them spreading in northern climates. Although not as effective as oksigenator, these plants help keep water clear by limiting the amount of sunlight that algae receive. In the small pond that is made in barrels and packages like that, this plant may be enough to maintain clear water.
Select and set the plants for ponds
1. Consider the following when selecting plants.
* How deep is the water? This will be a factor in establishing plants and their survival over winter if you live in cold regions. Some species require a minimum depth of 2 to 3 feet to grow well.
* Is your pond permanently installed in the ground or a small tab that will be transferred in the winter? In this case, even tropical plants may be an option.
* Do you drain the pond in winter? If you intend to drain the pool, you should consider plants that can spend the winter in the basement in a dormant state.
* How much sunlight your pond is not accepted?
* How big is your pond? If your pool of small, consider dwarf species.
2. Purchase plants from reliable sellers. Remember to include some oxygenator plants such as elodea.
3. Appeared and submergent plants should be planted in the pot. Wide range of pots available, from plastic baskets to pulp plantations. Choose a pot large enough for your plants.
4. If you are using a basket with various perforations, line the basket with a sack or two layers of newspaper to keep the soil from falling out of the hole.
5. Fill the container about half full with layers of garden soil mix is good. Do not use a mix or peat pots. It is too light and will float out of the pot. Adding aquatic plant fertilizer into the soil layer is recommended for some species. Follow the directions on the label for the value.
6. Place the plants on the ground and fill the container with the soil layer above the one inch from the top.
7. When planting water lily rhizomes, make a mound in the middle of the pot. Place the rhizome at a 45-degree angle. Crown rhizome should be toward the center pot. Cover the roots with soil, but not the crown.
8. In all cases, add a layer of gravel to the top of the pot. This will help keep the soil from floating out and prevent fish from digging in the soil.
9. Gently place the pot in the pool to keep soil from floating out. Place the pot on the bricks to get the desired height.
10. Floating species can be placed directly into the pond with no other care needed.
Plants should cover 50 to 70 percent of the water level. Native plants usually do not require fertilizer. For some exotic water lilies, limited fertilizing once yearly may be required. Check with your baby’s room in the care of plants and how to put plants in pots. Realize that overfertilizing can cause an explosion of unwanted algae that rob the water of oxygen.