Floating or underwater – you have a wide selection of beautiful plants in a wide variety of colors for pond biotopes. Swimming pond plants can be planted in the ground or in robust plant baskets and bloom, cleverly distributed, throughout the entire garden year.
Which plants are suitable for the different depth zones of a swimming pond?
Swimming pond plants should be selected depending on the water depth: Blue-green rush, fever clover and calamus are suitable for shallow water (0-30 cm). In shallow water (30-50 cm) hedgehogs, arrowhead and water mint are suitable. In the deep water zone (>50 cm) large pond lily, sea jug and water knotweed are recommended.
Basically, the various marsh and aquatic plants in the bank area are divided into three different depth zones. Particularly good and very natural looking when each one is of different size and is planted in a variety of ways. Before purchasing plants, a scale sketch of the swimming pond and its surroundings would be helpful in order to later provide the plants with species-appropriate growing conditions.
- Shallow water: Water depth from 0 to approx. 30 cm, although individual areas may also be above the water surface; Robust plant species can tolerate temporary drying in summer without any problems;
- Shallow water: water depth between 30 and 50 cm, which can vary depending on the season and weather conditions;
- Deep water zone: > 50 cm, consisting of floating and underwater plants, some of which have roots at a water depth of one meter;
Planting in baskets or on the pond bottom?
The use of mesh baskets (€1.00 on Amazon) made of plastic, coconut fiber or wicker is particularly popular in swimming ponds. Filled with soil and covered with a thin layer of pebbles, the plants can easily be placed directly into the basin and removed again for care. Should be planted directly in the bottom of the pond, it is better to only work locally and only with a little sand and gravel, as the water is completely sufficient as a nutrient supplier.
Popular swimming pond plants by water depth
| German name | Botanical name | Flowering time | color | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat (0 to 30 cm) | ||||
| Blue-green rush | Juncus inflexus | July, August | brown | hardy |
| fever clover | Menyanthes trifoliata | June, July | white | loves soft water and acidic soil |
| Calmus | Acorus calamus | June, July | green | fast growing, medicinal plant |
| Water Feather | Hottonia palustris | May to July | white | loves shady locations |
| Shallow (30 to 50 cm) | ||||
| Hedgehog flask | Spargarnium erectum | July, August | white | Fruits with spines |
| Arrowweed | Sagittaria sagittifolia | June to August | white | with red-eyed flowers |
| Sea ledges | Scirpus lacustris | June to August | brown | rampant, up to 2 meters high |
| Watermint | Mentha aquatica | June to September | violet | intense aroma |
| Deep > 50 cm | ||||
| Large pond lily | Nuphar lutea | June to September | yellow | loves it shady |
| Seapot | Nymphoides peltata | June to August | yellow | fast, strong spread |
| Water knotweed | Polygonum amphibium | June, July | red | wildly rampant |
| Water Nut | Trapa natans | June to September | white | requires a lot of heat |
Tip
Be sure to cut back your water lilies and pond lilies without root balls at the fine hairy roots before planting, smooth the interface on the rootstock and coat it thoroughly with charcoal dust to prevent rot.