Many owners of summer cottages or household plots want to have a small decorative pond on their territory . Such a corner of the garden is always a decoration of the landscape and a great place for relaxation and rest. If you have created a small body of water on your site, you need to think about what aquatic plants will grow in it.
Any pond in nature looks very picturesque, because both on its surface and along the coasts a wide variety of plants grow that not only decorate it visually, but also improve the microflora of water. Floating plants create a kind of shield from the sun's rays, which does not allow water to overheat in the summer (especially in shallow water bodies), and algae growing under water contribute to its enrichment with oxygen.
Now cultivated aquatic plants are on sale, but they are quite expensive, therefore, to save money and gain experience in cultivating such vegetation, you can initially use wild plants that grow in your area.
Higher aquatic plants are an integral environment-forming component of the aquatic ecosystem, since they belong to the so-called autotrophic organisms that create primary food products in the process of photosynthetic activity. There are five groups of plants used in decorating garden ponds: deep-sea, floating, coastal, water lilies, oxygen generators (producing oxygen).
Deep-sea plants can form flowers or leaves floating or rising above the surface of the water. Such plants are planted at the rate of one plant per 1.4 square meters. m. The best of them: aponogeton, water orontium, nymphaeum (swamp flower).
Floating water plants create shade and inhibit the evaporation of water. They get nutrients from the water, so they do fine without soil. They die when the temperature drops below zero. For 1 square. m. one planted plant. The best of them: water hyacinth, azolla , vodokras , pistiya, pemphigus (utricularia), floating flywort (water chestnut).
Coastal aquatic plants for the pond have a decorative value, although they create a slight shadow. They grow along the edges of the pond in shallow water. They are planted either directly in the soil or in flower baskets. At 0.5 square meters. m. one planted plant. The best of these plants: cattail, hosts of different varieties, arunkus, brunner, astilbe, buzulnik, arrowhead, daylily, verbenik, susak, calamus, shift, cane, and marigold.
Water lilies (nymphaea) are a real pearl of the pond, as they have elegant flowers of various colors and beautiful leaves. They inhibit the growth of green algae. These plants are planted in flower baskets, which are placed at the recommended depth for each species (from 0.5 to 1.5 m). Water lilies prefer calm water, so keep them away from fountains and waterfalls. On 2 sq.m. plant one plant. With the growth of water lilies, they must be thinned out. The most popular water lilies for our ponds: snow-white, tetrahedral, tuberous, fragrant, dwarf, hybrid (combines all types and varieties of breeding nymphs of different shapes and colors).
Oxygenating plants enrich the water with oxygen, which is necessary for the normal functioning of fish and other living organisms. They inhibit the growth of green algae, serve as food for fish. Such plants are planted in the form of bundles of stems, to which a pebble is tied and lowered to the bottom. They prefer sunny places. For 1 square. m. one or two bundles are planted. As they grow, plants should be thinned out. This species includes: submerged hornwort, common telorez, watery urut, elodea, ranunculus, curly rhode, swamp (water asterisk).