Pond plants....

[fishfriends05]

I am wanting to know what would be some good, easy to take care of plants for a pond and how's the best way to plant them. Some obstacles to overcome are....
It's not my pond so I don't have a lot of details. gets approximately about 10-12hrs of direct sunlight a day. Perimeter is lined with large rocks or boulders (2 1/2' x 3' x 3'). Bottom of pond is lined with round, smooth 5-10 pound rocks and we're looking at about 400-500 square feet surface area of water. Deepest point is about 5 feet then slopes upward to about 3" around perimeter. Not really any mud in pond for planting. Has two small waterfalls running into it and third larger one is under construction.
I will attempt to get some pics online, but until then I am wondering what would be a good variety of plants and hows the best to plant them. There is a possibility of koi being introduced into the pond. So the koi eating the plants would also have to be considered.
As for the filtration it has a skimmer box with a screen to pick up large debris then the water goes through the pump and into another box that has bags full of lava rock pieces for the biological filtration, then overflows back into the pond. Should there be more filtrtion to the pond. [acronym:8ca7d32038="Thanks in Advance"]TIA[/acronym:8ca7d32038]

[BlueCrystalMan]

Alot of pond plants come in planters that you just toss into the pond... they remain in the planter. I have an iris and a waterlily each in their original container. Also look into floating hyacinths...

The waterlilies and hyacinths grow like crazy: The waterlily adds three to five new leaves every other day or so, and the hyacinths, well, I just threw a bunch of them out... they are taking over!

Visit your local nursery... especially if they have pond supplies... they should have a full array of pond plants.

Hope that helps. Oh, and don't let the thought of dropping a plant in in its planter deter you... they are usually black and you can't see them once they are on the bottom... My iris sits on a plant shelf and the hyacinths moved in next to it... can't even tell. As for the waterlily pot... can't see that either.

[SquishyFish]

Well, this is my second time trying to post this...grrrrrr.


Anyway. Blue, I gotta disagree with you on the suggestion to leave them in their original container. They are almost always root bound when you get them...replanting them can only help.

As far as how to plant them and suggestions...FF...just check out the stickey in this forum on pond plants. It has a lot of the info you will need.

Let us know if you have any other questions!

[RogerMcAllen]

I'll second the new planter idea. It is amazing how fast the plants take off in a new pot of dirt.

[BlueCrystalMan]

Seriously? Ruh roh! That was never explained to me at the nursery. But let me tell ya... if replanting them makes 'em take off MORE, then I'm glad I didn't replant them. My stuff is out of control... makes sense what you guys are saying... great tip for the spring... The point, though, was to not worry about dirt on the bottom... just toss 'em in in a pot...

[RogerMcAllen]

Another fun lilly tip, in the spring when they are just comming back you can usually divide the plants into two.

[BlueCrystalMan]

Originally Posted by RogerMcAllen

Another fun lilly tip, in the spring when they are just comming back you can usually divide the plants into two.

Oh goodie! Twice the nightmare!

Just got back from five days away (vacation FINALLY!) and found that the floating hyacinths dang near took over the entire pond. Gonna be thinning them out tomorrow...