Beginner Plants
  Planting
  Plants For Koi
  Dangerous Plants

PLANTS A to Z
  A to Z Garden Plants

6 GROUP POND PLANTS
  Water Lilies
  Deep Water Aquatics
  Floaters
  Bog Plants
  Oxygenators
  Marginals

PLANT CARE PRODUCTS
  Plant Care
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SUBMERGED PLANTS
(growing entirely or almost entirely underwater)

HARDY WATERLILIES (Nymphaea species)
Frost-tolerant perennials that grow from a thick horizontal rhizome, sending up their characteristic floating lily pad on strong, spongy stems. The flowers, borne at or just above the water surface, are sweetly fragrant and last three to five days; opening in the morning and closing in the afternoon. Most require five to six hours of direct sunlight in still water 6 to 18 inches deep, although some will grow in water deeper than this. Available in pink, white, red, yellow and peach, waterlilies must be protected from damage and uprooting caused by koi. This can be done by planting them in sturdy plastic nursery containers or mesh baskets, and protecting the developing leaves with a mesh cylinder that extends from the rim of the pot to just below the water surface. Waterlilies are vigorous growers, and the average backyard pond can usually accommodate only one or two plants, Regular fertilization is often recommended but is probably not necessary in a pond stocked with fish.

TROPICAL WATERLILIES (Nymphaea species)
Offering some options unavailable from their frost-tolerant cousins, such as night-blooming and blue and lavender coloration; these tender perennials require warm water and should not be planted outside until the weather heats up. Care is otherwise identical to hardy waterlilies.

ARROWHEAD (Sagittaria species)
This plants offers white flowers and bold, upright foliage shaped like a spear point. Both the native S. latifolia and the Japanese S. japonica grow easily to around 3 to 4 feet.

CARDINAL FLOWER (Lobelia cardinals)
A native of roadside ditches, bogs and swamps in much of eastern North America, this plant attracts butterflies and hummingbirds with its spike of brilliant red flowers from late summer into autumn. Widely available from nursery centers, it also grows as a standard parennial in flowerbeds.

CATTAILS (Typha)
Grow too rampantly for use in most garden ponds, but the diminutive T. minima only reaches about 18 inches, adding its familiar inflorescence to the pond scene in summertime.

GOLDEN CLUB (Oronticum aquaticum)
Produces a spike of bright golden flowers in spring, arising from a rosette of blue-green leaves. The leaf texture causes water to bead, giving rise to the other common name, "Never Wet". Slowly forms a large clump in full sun in only an inch or two of still water.

IRIS (Iris species)
Offers numerous possibilities. All grow easily in full sun at the water's edge, and many will tolerate damp soil in a typical parennial bed. Do not confuse with beaded, or German, irises, a common landscape parennial that likes relatively dry, well-drained soil and will rot quickly if planted in a pond margin bed.

LIZARD'S TAIL (Saururus cernus)
Spreads somewhat aggressively in shallow water, with triangular leaves and a curious, fragrant, white flower spike.

OBEDIENT PLANT (Physostegia species)
Another North America native, spreads too aggressively for small water gardens but can be better controlled in a perennial bed nearby. It produces 2- to 3-foot spikes of lavender to white flowers all summer. The name comes from the character of the individual florets, which remain in place when arranged by a gardener.

PICKEREL PLANT (Pontderia cordata)
Found in wet habitats east of the Mississippi comes both a blue-purple and white form. The spade shaped, 2- to 3-foot leaves arise in clumps from submerged roots. Easily grown, it requires regular pruning to remain in bounds in small gardens.

SWEET FLAG (Acorus calamus)
Offers swordshaped foliage about 2 feet tall that is fragrant when crushed. Clump forming, it is available in variegated and dwarf varieties. A related species, A. gramineus, produces green-and yellow-striped foliage. It is durable and easily grown. In addition to these hardy selections, a variety of tropical plants for the wet margins of a pond can be found in garden centers and mail order catalogs. Among the familiar ones that could be included around koi ponds are the fragrant bog lily (Crinum americanum), umbrella palm (Cyperus alternifolius), fragrant spider lily (Hymenocallis liriosme) and various varieties of taro (Colocasia species).