Plants? Zone 6

[Jenn812]

Suggestions for pond plants?
Best places to buy?

I have been told plants help control algae. I'd like something I can leave in the pond all winter.

I'm in Zone 6.

 

[addy1]

lilies, parrots feather, aracharnis, hornwort, iris, pickerel weed, lots out there, bog bean

 

[Jenn812]

Where do you even buy pond plants? Nurseries? Do pond stores sell/keep them?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Pond stores, Plant nurseries, Big Box stores or On-line.

 

[Tula]

http://www.tricker.com

I haven't purchased from them, but they've been recommended to me and I'm going to order. Reasonable prices too

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Suggestions for pond plants?

One of my favorite flowering plants is Blue Flag Iris. The flower only lasts a couple of days, but it's well worth having. One of my favorite sedges is Black Sedge (Carex nigra). Great size, great color, and great look for a pond. Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is an awesome plant to have, but ideal prefers wet ground rather than standing water, although it can succeed in very shallow water. Royal Pickerel Rush is an option too. It has more of a bluish flower compared to Pickerel Rush.


Most garden centers in my area have a small pond section with about 6-10 different plant species.

 

[Jenn812]

Most garden centers in my area have a small pond section with about 6-10 different plant species.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Ideally how much water surface area should be covered by plants?

And are any plants more oxygenating than others?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Only submerged plants are considered 'oxygenating plants'.such as Anacharis. Coon Tail and similar plants.

 

[Faebinder]

If your goal is to get rid of algae, then you need plants that eat up nitrates and those are the ones that multiply fast.

Water Hyacinths, duckweed, frog bit and water lettuce. If they dont survive your winter (which they shouldnt in zone 6 but I would have thought Kentucky was zone 7) then buy a fresh batch off ebay or a pond plant site every year. Ebay has them real cheap. Or you can take them inside and put some in a small bucket over the winter.. When you put them back out in spring they will multiple fast again.

I just replace my floating plants off ebay cause they die in the winter. I also noticed that if I buy them too early they will die when left in the pond... by early I mean putting them in the pond when the temperature is not consistently above 45 F outside.

My pond has baby (or mini as they are called or dwarf by some) Cattails and they stay in the water all year.

If you are just looking for decorative plants, then youre gonna need to see what the others suggested above. I just recently bought bog weed and blue flag irises but I havent planted those yet.