Rookie pond owner plant questions

[SEKCOBRA]

Hi all
I'm new to pond ownership and looking for some advice on what kind of plants to use in my pond. I posted the other day in the new pond section and received some great advice on some questions and issues I was having so I thought I would let you veterans show me the way here also. Lisa in Chicago jump in if you don't mind. First my pond is somewhere between 3000-4000 gallons, I'm on Long Island NY and the pond has a 7200GPH pump with a large gravel bog area and a biofall at the other end. Rock walls and gravel bottom. I get a good amount of sun till late afternoon when the house shades the pond. I'm trying to get a idea of what type of plants to use. I know nothing about these water plants. I will have about 15 Koi in the pond. (they are already in the pond). I'm planning on leaving the plants in pots. I have read that some root so hard into gravel that they can be difficult to remove or trim? My bog area has a vault buried in it with my pump. I want to put plants there. Its a shallow area about 4x4. I will need to get to pump occasionally so I don't want roots to make it difficult to access the vault. I'm thinking some kind of lily's in that area? Pond has shelves around perimeter about a foot deep so I guess I can put plants around anywhere. What type of plants are better for the pond water? What are the pros and cons of plants you recommend? Is there a website I can go that shows pictures of the plants? How do you put plants in? Pots or not? Do the roots in potted plants still grow through the holes in the pots to root in gravel? I had this built to look as natural as possible. I would like to have some lily pads and add some color.
Thanks for any help.
I'm going to post a picture of the pond now. The left side is the bog area. Also would like to get a vine type plant to plant(not water plant unless there is one that would do that)

at base of driftwood log that would creep across on the wood. Saw something with little flowers last year that went up a street sign that gave me the idea.

 

[SEKCOBRA]

Also, Are there plants that can stay in year round or do they die and have to be replaced?

 

[Angel]

creeping jennys work great in bogs and are kinda like a vine. you can see it over hang on bottom right of my stock tank bog.

 

[addy1]

Very pretty pond.

I don't have koi, but those that do say they tend to not get along with plants. Some have success with koi and plants.
They like to root through the litter or gravel the plants are in and dig them up and also munch on them.

How shallow is your bog? Lilies like to be around 12 inches or more under water.

The only plants in my bog that send down deep and a huge mass of roots are the sedges. Everything else tends to be shallow rooted.

Plant for your climate zone and the plants will come back every year.

 

[SEKCOBRA]

Thanks for reply's. Angel those are nice but I'm looking for something that will attach to driftwood and go across. I could use those other places though thanks. Addy thank you. I saw your set up on another post, really nice. I wish I had the room. My bog area and all the shelves are about a foot deep so that will work. I plan on keeping plants in pots and surrounding with rocks to stabilize pots and keep fish away.

 

[dpowell]

OMG your pond is so beautiful! I can't believe how clear it is. I can only dream!!

 

[Lisak1]

In order for plants to do their magic in your bog it's really best to plant them directly in the gravel. I know you're trying to avoid the work of thinning, but plants in pots bring their own challenges - including that they don't naturalize as well and may be less dependable to return year after year. And getting the roots into the gravel makes them much more efficient at filtration.

Irises do great in bogs, but they do root deeply and can be challenging to control. Cattails are more shallow rooting, but you want to choose dwarf varieties as they will stay smaller. You could fill that whole bog area with cattails and it would look very natural.

You could grow lilies in that area, but those you would definitely want to keep in pots and they generally prefer deeper water. However, there are smaller varieties of lilies that do fine in shallow water - I put one in my 16" deep patio pond every year. Just make sure to move it to deeper water during the cold months to keep it from freezing.

How deep is the water in that bog area? You may need to keep some things in pots to keep them a bit higher in the water. Most bog plants want the crown of the plant at water level or above.

 

[ROW FISH]

If you place plants in pots they will do virtually zero work for your pond as they will feed off the soil nutrients rather than the natural pond nutrients. In general the only plants you will want to have in soil filled pots are water lilies. All other plants will need to be planted in gravel, or in pots/baskets with holes to allow roots to bed themselves into the gravel or expand into open water to help remove nutrients.

Bog suggestions:
Great filter plants include Elephant Ears (Taro), Sedges, Cannas, and Iris. (Note: there are many more this is just personal experience)
Top shallow root plants include the mentioned creeping jenny, I love Rainbow water celery and it is very shallow rooted and easy to thin.

My best suggestion is to take a look at this website www.tricker.com they have all of their plants already segmented in categories for you with great descriptions. Even if you don't purchase anything from them it is a great resource for information and research. Get a list of plants you are interested in and where and how you want to plant them and let us know and we can do our best to advise off of that. Everyone has their favorites and will have their own suggestions, so go find what you like and we shall see if we can make it work.

 

[SEKCOBRA]

If you place plants in pots they will do virtually zero work for your pond as they will feed off the soil nutrients rather than the natural pond nutrients. In general the only plants you will want to have in soil filled pots are water lilies. All other plants will need to be planted in gravel, or in pots/baskets with holes to allow roots to bed themselves into the gravel or expand into open water to help remove nutrients.

Bog suggestions:
Great filter plants include Elephant Ears (Taro), Sedges, Cannas, and Iris. (Note: there are many more this is just personal experience)
Top shallow root plants include the mentioned creeping jenny, I love Rainbow water celery and it is very shallow rooted and easy to thin.

My best suggestion is to take a look at this website www.tricker.com they have all of their plants already segmented in categories for you with great descriptions. Even if you don't purchase anything from them it is a great resource for information and research. Get a list of plants you are interested in and where and how you want to plant them and let us know and we can do our best to advise off of that. Everyone has their favorites and will have their own suggestions, so go find what you like and we shall see if we can make it work.
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Hi All
Once again looking for advice. I want to put plants in my pond. I have Koi. I mentioned this to a Aquascape pond guy and he said it was not a good idea. I know the Koi guys don't like anything in the pond but I thought a Aquascape guy would be in favor of plants. This guy said he made more money last year treating ponds for leeches and flukes from pond plants. I have read some people suggest treating plants with Potassium promegate before putting in pond to kill potential parasites and bacteria. I'm getting different stories every time I try to do something. Very frustrating and confusing. I just want to put some lilies and some marginal to help keep algae at bay and for the natural look. Thanks for any help or suggestions.
Does anyone here treat their plants or has anyone had issues from plants?

 

[addy1]

I have put a ton of plants in my ponds and bog, never have had a issue. I don't treat the plants.

 

[SEKCOBRA]

I have put a ton of plants in my ponds and bog, never have had a issue. I don't treat the plants.

Thanks addy for reply. Do you have Koi in your ponds?

 

[Jhn]

Same as addy, have put alot of plants in my ponds over the years w/o any issues.

Yes, I have koi. In my current pond the koi leave pretty much everything alone. The only plants they eat are my water celery and parrots feather, which needs to be kept in check anyhow.

The koi I had in a pond at my previous residence were some plant eating fools. It didn’t matter what plant was in that pond they would eat or destroy it, if they could get at it.

So, basically there is no right answer. You may have to just add some plants and see what your koi do.

 

[addy1]

Thanks addy for reply. Do you have Koi in your ponds?

No shubunkins and gf only

 

[Lisak1]

I have koi and plants. Never had a problem with parasites related to putting plants in the pond.

 

[Telion]

Gorgeous pond. Looking forward to seeing what you put in your bog.