Story: Potted Water Plants
Episode: 8
Presenter: Calinda Anderson
Air Date: 17 April 2021

A pond is a beautiful addition to any garden but picking the right aquatic plants can be tricky.  Calinda gives her top tips on selecting the right aquatic plants to help your pond thrive.

• For full sun positions select plants that have tough slimline foliage, like the Juncus, Bueamia, Blue Rush, and Papyrus. These plants will handle periods of both dry and flood.
• If you have a pond in a full shade position, select plants that have broad, softer foliage, like Water Cannas and Taro.
• Selecting plants for shaded areas could include the selection of fully submersible aquatic plants, like Vallis grass or Potomangenton.
• Submersible plants live completely underwater, never breaking the surface and have a very low light requirement.
• There are a few unique Aquatic plants that will grow in full sun, full shade and even fully submersed, such as Echindoras otherwise known as the Amazon Sword.
• Echindoras and other aquatic plants can be grown in a standard pot with a few changes to their care.
• The aquatic plant must be potted in a pot that doesn’t have any holes in it to ensure there is no leaching of water.
• To pot the aquatic plant, use a slow-release fertiliser and back fill with soil, then pack it all down firmly.
• At the rim of the pot, leave a 5cm gap, in this space fill it with fine gravel, right to the very top and gently fill the pot with water.