Planting pond plant methods?

scott75 · #1 (**permalink**) 20-01-2011, 07:37 PM

Hi,

I've just created a small pond at the bottom of my garden. It's a bit shady. It has a ridge that is on average about 10cm and at its deepest is around 50cm.

I am planning on planting Starwort, Fringed Water Lillies and Water Forget-Me-knots.

Does anyone have any good tips how to plant these?
Can I just drop the water-Lillies in the water and let them do their thing?
I guess the Water-Forget-Me-Knots would do better in pots along the shallow ridge?
Can I get away doing this at this time of year?

Someone said that plants will root to rocks if there are enough nutrients in the water. Is this a method anyone has tried?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Red Robin · #2 (**permalink**) 23-01-2011, 05:28 PM

Welcome to the forum

I only created my first wildlife pond last June so I'm a newbie like you too. A friend gave me a water lily bunch and told me to simply weigh the roots lump down with a rock. It's still like that and very healthy.

Same friend later gave me some Iris already planted in open-weave sided baskets. There are books and also web pages about where/how/what various different plants like in order to grow and prosper. The trick is not to over plant a pond. Oh, and don't forget oxygenator plants to assist the health of the still water. I've got the usual 'fern' type and also Parrot's Feather [And no, to save anyone telling me, I'm not fussed about foreign species].

Someone else will be along soon-ish to offer you more info, no doubt.

BarbaraEmma · #3 (**permalink**) 23-01-2011, 07:15 PM

Welcome to WAB Scott75.

I suppose it's going to depend on where you live.Probably in warmer areas you'd be alright but you might find the plants are not available yet as most of them die back in winter.If you put them in and you get more cold weather you stand the chance of loosing them.I live in a cold area so I wouldn't buy any new pond plants until the weather changes.
My pond is about 2 years old ,it's approx 6'x 5'and at it's deepest it's @3'.
I have Starwort which was in a tiny pot and now covers 1/3 of the surface ,last summer it looked lovely and the frogs and tadpoles loved it for hiding amongst.Once you build up a layer of silt in your pond lots of plants will spread out their roots into it.I have Hornwort which is spreading itself well,it too covered a 1/3 of the surface ,the damsel flies and dragonflies seem to love it.The Water Forget me nots do need to go in shallow water mine did take longer to get going but they do now fill the pot they are in.One good idea I pinched off Kayleigh was to plant Ivy to overhang the one edge of my pond where the liner was showing.The frogs love it,they hide under it and climb up it and it looks good.
I have no experience of Water lilies but I think you're right to just throw them in to the deepest part of your pond.
You'll be suprised how soon your pond will flourish.It's worth every bit of effort you put into it.You can loose hours just staring into it.

tom00_uk · #4 (**permalink**) 24-01-2011, 01:07 AM

a lot of the online retailers say they will start shipping in feb weather dependent

most garden centres no matter how early Easter falls see the bank holiday weekend as the start of pond stocking season.

planting, partly depends on the plants, but some things i had runners for and no aquatic compost were just stuck in a pond basket with gravel and are going better than the plant they came from.

Red Robin · #5 (**permalink**) 24-01-2011, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarbaraEmma

One good idea I pinched off Kayleigh was to plant Ivy to overhang the one edge of my pond where the liner was showing.The frogs love it,they hide under it and climb up it and it looks good.
I have no experience of Water lilies but I think you're right to just throw them in to the deepest part of your pond.

You'll be suprised how soon your pond will flourish.It's worth every bit of effort you put into it.You can loose hours just staring into it.

....Phew! I'm glad to discover I'm not the only one who spends hours staring into their pond

The ivy idea sounds good but wouldn't there be the potential problem of the ivy breaking through the pond liner if the roots get a chance?

Tursiops2 · #6 (**permalink**) 24-01-2011, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Robin

The ivy idea sounds good but wouldn't there be the potential problem of the ivy breaking through the pond liner if the roots get a chance?

No. It's a popular misconception, but plants can't "sense" water through an impermeable membrane. It's a different matter if you've got a microscopic leak you're not aware of, though.

Welcome to WAB
T2