Get into gardening

Pond plants are a great way to add colour to your water feature and most are easy to grow and require very little maintenance – other than the occasional tidy up to remove tired-looking leaves and flower heads.

However, to ensure your pond is easy to look after, you must choose varieties of plant that suit the size and depth of the pond.

Easy-care ponds

If you have a pond with a surface area of around 5m² and you pick the right combination of plants, the pond can be virtually self-sustaining. Aim to cover at least one-third of the surface area with floating plants to cut down the amount of sunlight going into the water.

Floating leaves, like water lily pads, not only provide shade and hiding places for young fish, but also prevent the growth of algae that can turn the water a murky shade of green.

Submerged plants are also an important ingredient for an easy-care pond. They help fill the water with oxygen and absorb the excess nutrients that green algae feed on.

Aim to add about 10 submerged plants per square metre of surface area. Plants that grow in the shallow water at the edge of a pond are known as marginal plants. Most will spread out to cover an area of 30-50cm, so eventually they’ll need to be spaced at this distance along the pond shelf.

When to add pond plants?

Planting pond plants is best done in spring (this gives them plenty of time to settle in). Choose a sunny warm day to make the job more enjoyable. Use special aquatic baskets with lattice-work sides to plant both marginals in the shallows, and for deep water plants such as water lilies.

It is also important to use special aquatic compost which releases nutrients slowly otherwise the pond water will turn green with algae. After planting, cover the surface of the compost with a 2cm layer of washed gravel which will prevent fish from stirring up the compost. Plunge each basket into a bucket of pond water until the air bubbles stop coming out of the compost. Then place the plant in the pond.

Positioning water lilies:

Stand water lilies on bricks so that their leaves are just below the surface. As the leaves grow, lower the basket in stages until it is sitting on the floor of the pond. You’ll be surprised how quickly this happens – often in a matter of days.

Top tip:

Avoid getting wet when positioning deep-water plants by threading two pieces of string through either side of the basket. Then, with someone holding the other ends of each string, carefully lift the plant over the pond and lower it to the bottom.

Stocking with fish

Once the pond is planted, wait for about a month before adding fish – this gives everything time to settle.

Once you have your pond fish (available from most pet stores) keep them in a cool place, like your garage until early evening. Then carefully float the bag containing the fish on the surface of the water for about an hour. This will allow the temperature of the water in the bag to slowly cool to that of the pond. Then simply release the fish out of the bag – carefully.

How many fish?

When stocking a new pond, allow up to 25cm of fish for each square metre of surface area. So for a pond with a surface area of 5m² you should not add any more than ten 12cm long fish. This will give the fish plenty of room to grow.