Growing pond plants without pots

[Cowgirl]

This may sound a bit stupid but I really don't like restricting my pond plants in those perforated aquatic pots. I understand that the plants can get out of control but I really don't like the idea of pulling plants up each year & putting in a bigger pot, it's not laziness (honest!) but more to not damage the plant & disturb wildlife. I also understand that I could buy a huge pot, put the plant in then leave, but again at one point it'll need replanting & in my experience the roots grow thru & removing the pot can be a bit of a nightmare.

I have a couple of bigger plants which are weighed down with a brick & a piece of string, so the plant can then float above it at the correct level there is also a load of debris & soil trapped in the roots. However what about small plants? How much do they need the soil in the pot. Could I do a similar thing with the bricks with them? My first level is too deep for marginals so I have plant pots filled with gravel & propped on stones (My pond is a real Heath Robinson affair! ), then the plant pot sits on top of that, so that the plant isn't too deep. I don't know much about pond plants so I have to go by the depth recommended on the label .

Most of my plants are small at present so I would like to know what to do this year with them, or should I just leave the plants in the small pots & let nature takes it's course?

[reino]

Hmmm! I'm looking forward to replies to this question too.
I'm struggling with how to plant at the correct depth....how to raise the pots up so the plants aren't planted too deeply.

Reino

[Elean0r]

I'll have a go at answering, but I'm only guessing from what happens in and around our pond.

"Correct depth" as on the labels isn't always right. Some of the marginals we originally bought weren't suitable for planting in water, they didn't survive the first winter. We guessed it was because they rotted.

Most plants don't mind drying out a bit - flags, for example, grow in a part of our garden that gets wet in the winter and dries out completely in the summer.

We put all our plants in baskets containing gravel only, none of them have suffered, there's enough gunge and goo (nutrients) in the water for them. We wash the roots to get rid of soil, because lots of the plants you can buy have been potted in ordinary compost that's just covered with gravel, it's too rich.

If we're feeling mean we take out the containers and cut off any roots that are poking throught, the plants don't seem to mind. It's the same principle as root pruning.

You could make shallower planting shelves by putting in a row (or rows) of bricks to the depth you want, and backfilling to the side of the pond with washed gravel. The animal life will love the gravel and your plants will be happy.

The pond is, in a way, like any flower bed. In the end some of the plants will need thinning, best to do it in the autumn when nothing's breeding.

[Cowgirl]

Thank you for that Eleanor, good idea about the bricks & filling with gravel. Must admit don't know anything re pond plants, will just have to suck it & see.

Cheers

[reino]

Hello Eleanor,
I'm going to try the bricks and gravel idea too, also not using soil. Do you use individual pots for each plant or have you used the crescent shaped ones that you can fit a few in?
I'm wondering whether to get planting bags, do you know if they are any good?
Re your other thread about logs in ponds....I've put a branch in a border next to the pond with half of it hanging over and into the pond itself.
It's supposed to be there so the birds can drink from the water but it looks quite good too. I don't know what sort of tree it's from but it hasn't caused any problems with the water.
Reino

[Elean0r]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl

will just have to suck it & see.

Probably as good an idea as any to be honest.

This BCTV guide might help you. BTCV Handbooks Online and some of the guides here | Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust |

This site has some good information, but it takes a time to find each plant Caltha palustris - shoot

This site has a long list of 'marginals', quick to refer to if you know the names Choose Your Marginal Pond Plants Here winter flowering period

There's a site called 'gonativeplants' which is a shop, not sure if I'm allowed to add an active link. Their descriptions are quite good.

Originally Posted by reino

I'm going to try the bricks and gravel idea too, also not using soil. Do you use individual pots for each plant or have you used the crescent shaped ones that you can fit a few in?

Everything in our pond is in pots/containers of some sort, because they contain/restrict the roots and make it easier to lift and prune the plants or to move them if we think they're in the wrong place.

Our pond is quite big, rectangular about 4m x3m. We use the kidney shaped baskets for the deep water oxygenators - one container for each species - and for some of the bigger clumps of marginals - reeds, fringed waterlily and bogbean. The other marginals are mostly in smaller containers, with the ones that need the shallowest water in a gravel bed as I've described.

Instead of using deep square or rectangular containers for lilies we've tried using cheap plastic garden riddles/sieves. They cost less than £2 each.

The experts say it's a good idea to have some areas of the pond that are only an inch or so deep, and which dry out in the summer. It's handy for birds too, easy for them to bathe. (BCTV etc refer to is as the 'drawdown zone')

I'm wondering whether to get planting bags, do you know if they are any good?

Never tried them, but they'd probably be a good idea if the shelves aren't quite level, they might be less likely to topple over.

Re your other thread about logs in ponds....etc

That's handy to know, thanks.

[paulinemiller10]

The bottom of the pond will always fill with mud over time, plant roots in small containers soon find their way out into the mud on the bottom of the pond, you can buy fertilizer sticks for the plants that don't harm fish.

If you need to drain the pond, it is easier to lift the main root out in a basket, small plants that need to be near the surface can be lowered with bricks as they grow bigger. Pauline.

[reino]

Hello Eleanor and Pauline,
Thanks for your replies, they're very helpful.
Reino