Plants suitable for ponds

[alextret]

I wonder, which of the commonly available plants are most suitable for planting in a pond?

People at the local fish shop (Palmerston North Wet Pets) told me that none of the "cold water" plants they have are likely to make it over winter, because essentially all plants that do well outside are banned.

[Caryl]

Lillies of course. Myriophyllum aquaticum (parrot's feather) does so well in cold water it infests farm dams and drinking troughs.

Papyrus grows well in pond margins, growing in shallow water.

The lotus, Nelumbo spp, will do well but needs to be lifted over winter (lillies are supposed to be lifted and divided too).

Oxygen weed, Elodea canadensis, also grows well. It is the only one of 3 species commonly called 'oxygen weed' that is permitted in aquaria.

There is a plant called alligator weed, Alternanthera philoxeroides, which is a serious problem in waterways north of Auckland.

Baby tears, Bacopa, will also adapt to pond life.

Another to look for is Starwort, Callitriche stagnalis. It is common in streams and/or creeping over mud.

Cardamine, Cardamine lyrata, is best grown as a bog plant and is easily over-run by algae. Commonly called bittercress.

Chara globularis can be found throughout NZ.

Elatine gratioloides is found in shallow margins of large lakes throughout NZ.

Of course, duckweed grows well

Lilaeopsis ruthiana and Lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae are also found in shallow lakes throughout NZ.

Give Lysimachia a go too. It is found in most pet shops (usually under "bunched plants").

Watercress is found in drains and streams. Fish love the roots so it should be regarded as a renewable fishfood rather than a decorative plant

Nitella, stonewort, is another plant to try.

Irises are easy to get hold of and provide lots of colour.

That should give you something to go on for a start :lol:

[alextret]

Thank you very much. It's a lot of information, and very useful one.

I take it, all of them are not prohibited. (I figured it out that just because some plant is available, e.g., found in the wild, it does not mean that it is allowed).

[Caryl]

I left out all the prohibited ones

[Warren]

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works but these two are on the banned list:

Parrots Feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum)

Alligator Weed (Althernanthera philoxeroides)

[livebearer_breeder]

There is a legal type of Parrots Feather that i and i know a few other aquarists have.

Shae

[Warren]

There are only two known types of coldwater Myriophyllum in NZ and both are banned:

Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrots Feather - Watermilfoil)

Myriophyllum spicatum (Eurasian Watermilfoil)

If you have any type of Watermilfoil in NZ it will be one of these two and is definately banned...

Go here for more info:

http://www.protectnz.org.nz/downloads/n ... t_list.pdf

[livebearer_breeder]

Must be something else then....

[Caryl]

Yeah, I thought most ponds had one form of parrot's feather in them. It is very common from what I have seen. Like Shae said, must be another plant.