Aquatic plants bring a variety of life and colour to a pond, although they are easy to plant and look after, there are some differences compared to planting on dry land. The best time to purchase and plant these aquatic flowers would be from mid-spring through to the early months of summer. The water in your pond will be ever so slightly warming up and at this time, new plants should establish themselves quite nicely.

You should plant aquatic plants into a container at the bottom of your pond. When in smaller ponds, aquatic plants often benefit from being placed into a container as this prevents them from becoming too large or invasive towards other plants you may have. Aquatic baskets can normally be purchased with lattice sides, these allow water, air and any other gases to move around freely. If, however they do not already have a very fine mesh over the sides, you should line them with hessian or some kind of polypropylene fabric, in order to prevent the soil from washing out of the container. You should only use soil that is of a medium to heavy loam and that is free from any fertilizers or herbicides. If you prefer, you could use specially developed aquatic composts, as these normally contain a slow releasing fertilizer that will not seep out into the water.

First of all, you should choose a container that is appropriate for the size of your plant. If you are dealing with taller plants you should layer the bottom of the container with large rocks or stones as this will add stability to the plant. Next, you will part-fill the container with your soil to about halfway or three-quarters of the way up. When you place the plant in the container, make sure that it is planted to the same depth to which it was in the original tub. Plants that have rhizomes (underground stems that send out roots and shoots), should be positioned so that the rhizomes are just above the soils surface so that they can move. After this has been done, firm the plants in well and create a thin layer of fine gravel or grit so as to prevent fish from stirring up the soil. Make sure the rhizomes are still just above the surface of the gravel or grit.

There are many types of aquatic plants, so make sure that they are positioned well in the pond, so as to insure, that they reach their full potential. Deep water aquatics can be purchased as either, bare-rooted or container-grown. Any old roots or big leaves should be removed before planting and container-grown plants may need to be re-planted in bigger pots. Both types of plant may need to be raised on bricks, so that leaves that are meant to be floating, are. They then can be lowered in stages so as to give them time for their leaves to reach the surface, before the appropriate depth is reached. Floating plants should be gently placed on the water’s surface after being separated from any clumps. One plant should occupy one square meter of water and any invasive aquatic plants should be avoided. Marginal plants are bought in small plastic pots or baskets and are best grown on the inside edge of your pond, or, if you prefer, in a bog garden. They should first be re-planted into aquatic baskets though. In summertime, if you are planting bare-root marginals, you should trim the tops back by half and cut the roots back to within 2.5cm of the crown. Submerged aquatics are normally bought in bunches and can be planted straight into baskets. In each square meter of water there should be 4 to 5 bunches that each contains three to four stems.