Pond Plants
Choosing, planting and caring for water lilies, marginal, floating and oxygenating plants that keep a pond healthy and beautiful.
Pond plants
Planting a healthier pond
Plants are one of the best tools for clear, healthy water. They compete with algae for nutrients, shade the water, add oxygen and give fish and wildlife shelter, as well as softening a pond's edges and making it look natural.
Most ponds use four groups of plants:
- Water lilies and other deep-water plants, which shade the surface
- Marginal plants, which grow on shallow shelves around the edges
- Floating plants, which spread quickly across the surface
- Submerged oxygenators, which grow under the water
Our pond plants guide explains how to choose each type for your pond and climate, how deep to place them, how to plant them in baskets and how to divide and trim them as they grow.
Plants work best alongside good filtration; see pond filters. If you are still planning, make sure your pond has planting shelves at the right depths. Our guide on how to build a pond shows how to dig them. In fall, trim back dying foliage so it doesn't rot in the water, as part of your seasonal pond maintenance.
Common questions
A good target is to cover about half to two-thirds of the water's surface with lily pads and floating plants in summer. Shade keeps the water cooler and helps starve algae of light, while plants use up nutrients that would otherwise feed algae.
Most pond plants are grown in aquatic baskets filled with heavy, loamy aquatic soil or clay-based planting media, topped with gravel. Avoid ordinary potting mix, which floats and releases nutrients that feed algae.
Yes. Water hyacinth, water lettuce and some other floating plants are banned or restricted in several states because they spread into natural waterways. Check your state's invasive species list and never release pond plants or water into the wild.