How To Choose Water Garden Plants

So. The water garden bug has bitten. You've dug and leveled andsweated and said words you hope that no one else has heard. Nowit's time for the fun part - picking out your water gardenplants!

Plant varieties within these four categories are what you need toeyeball: deep-water, marginals, oxygenators, and floaters. (Ifyou think these words are big and weird, just thank your starswe're not talking medicine.)

After you've diligently planted your babies in plastic tubs,pans, or clay pots, packing the fertilizer- and chemical-freesoil down tightly, load the container down with pea gravel tokeep the soil from floating away. (Don't ask why this works, butit does.) Plunk your prize into the water at the appropriatedepth (You'll read about that in just a minute, so hang on toyour hat.) and you're on your way!

Plant-dunking should be done during the growing season. Wait fouror five weeks for the water plants to do their thing before youadd your fish. If you just can't hold your horses, er, your fish,for that long, you can jump the gun a couple of weeks, but theidea is to let the plants first get established.

When picking your plants, you'll no doubt be wowed by waterlilies of the tropical persuasion. These aquatic wonders lord itover their hardier cousins with knock-out fragrance, big bloomsday or night - depending on the variety - and a habit of bloomingtheir little hearts out nearly every day during the growingseason. They love their warmth, though, so unless you live in ayear-round, warm-weather climate (in which case, you are used tobeing hated and has absolutely nothing to do with this article),be prepared to hasten them into a greenhouse or at least musterup enough moolah to buy them some "grow" lights to tough it outthrough the winter. They will definitely bite the dust atfreezing temperatures, but give them night-time temps of at least65F and daytime temps of 75F or warmer, and your love affair withtropicals will only grow that much more torrid.

Hardy water lilies, while not the showboaters that tropicals are,are . . . well, hardier. Their big advantage is that they canstay in the water year 'round unless it freezes so deeply therootstock is affected. And being the tough guys they are, you canplant these puppies deeper than the tropicals, some living it upin depths of 8 to 10 feet.

Both hardy and tropical water lilies are real sun worshippers. Atleast 5 to 10 hours a day is what it takes, along with regularfertilization, to keep these plant pals happy.

Everybody and their brother with a water garden wants a lotusplant. (Sisters, too, no doubt.) These water-lily relatives comein hardy and not-so-hardy strains, so make sure you know whatyou're buying. Much bigger than water lilies, lotus have huge,famously splendid blooms that not only will knock your socks off,but make you forget you have feet altogether. Their leaves andseed pods are so breathtaking, they're a favorite in costlycut-flower arrangements. Big, bold, and beautiful, withwater-depth needs of 2-3 feet, these shouters are really betteroff in big ponds that get plenty of sun.

Marginals (sometimes called "bog" plants by those lesshigh-falutin') are grass-like plants that strut their stuff inshallow areas no deeper than 6" that border the water garden.They also do well in mud. Cattail, bamboo, rush, papyrus, andmany other plants fall into the family of marginals and grow bestwith a minimum of at least three hours of jolly old Sol.

Some plants are there but not seen, working stoically under waterand without fanfare to fight algae, oxygenate the water, andprovide food for fish. (In lieu of these plants, if your pond issmall, you can fake it fairly adequately with an aquarium pump.)Easy on the wallet, varieties of these plants can be bought inbunches and like their soil sandy and/or gravelly. Like hardywater lilies, they, too, will warrior it through the winter.

Water hyacinths have become a recent rage, especially for thelazy among us. No soil is required for these beauties. Toss themin the water and they're "planted." A water hyacinth ain't justanother pretty face, though; these plants do their part in thewar against algae and blanket weeds by keeping sunlight scarce onthe water's surface. But one note of caution: This plant may takeover the world if allowed. It's invasive as all get out, so keepit under control or you (and your neighbors) may wish you'd neverlaid eyes on it.

A water garden isn't a garden without plants. Take your time,know your climate, and choose wisely. Your rewards will be greatin return.

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Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several other pond-related websites including MacArthurWatergardens.com, and Pond-Filters-Online.com.

He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 9,000. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive our FREE 'New Pond Owners Guide' visit MacArthur Water Gardens today!
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