Caring for pond plants is an important task for the pond enthusiast. Keeping your plants in good health will keep your pond in great working order in many ways, so you will want to try to keep your pond plants happy, and keeping your pond plants healthy means your pond fish will be as well. There are different pond plants which all perform several different jobs in a pond. Each function is vitally important to the overall health of your pond and your pond fish.
One of the mortal enemies of your pond plants is algae. Using the right blend of pond plants can prevent algae problems in ponds by encouraging the right ecological system to develop. If you have too many plants or too much algae, your fish may suffer. During the daylight hours plants and algae will consume carbon dioxide and will give off oxygen which the fish take in throughout the day. At night, the reverse happens with plants and just one night of high plant activity can kill your fish because they have been oxygen deprived.
When caring for your pond plants it is also important to ensure that you have the right plants in the right location in your pond. Likewise, you will want to select plants which can be sustained in your pond. Smaller ponds may not be deep enough to sustain plants like Lotus and Water Lillies. These types of plants need more than two feet of water to maintain optimum health of the plants.
Those deep water plants in addition to floating plants will provide healthier oxygen levels in your pond, making caring for pond plants easier. The reason for this is that these plants will “eat” the nutrients and organisms in the pond which algae needs to thrive. Thus, the balance of the proper blend of plants to algae in your pond.
Once you have researched the plants you have chosen for your pond, you will begin learning about caring for pond plants. You will need to understand the personality of each plant you place in your pond to ensure that it is in an environment in which it will flourish. Some plants will not do well when the foliage is wet and the leaves will rot, causing the plant to die. Other plants will want more shade and still others will need near full sun during daylight hours.
You can achieve an extremely healthy ecological system in your pond by learning the basics of caring for pond plants.
