Plants For Koi Ponds
The use of plants in a koi pond will serve a multitude of functions for the environment the fish live in. Some of these functions will include providing much needed shade to the fish, reduce the growth of algae by taking their share of nutrients, aid the water purification and provide a natural feel and touch to the area. Using aquatic plants in your pond also provides areas for spawning, as koi are known to attach their eggs to plants during the breeding season in spring.
You must follow a certain strategy when choosing and planting plants in your koi pond, koi enjoy rooting around in the soil containers and eating the newly formed roots and shoots, koi are known to have a hungry appetite for some types of pond plants.
There are many different varieties of plant life to choose for your koi pond, the most suitable for koi ponds are water lilies, lotuses and pond lilies. You selection of plant life will also depend on your geographical location; it is always a good idea to talk to your local supplier of plant life for information on which plants to select and how to care for them.
When planting your plants in the pond you cannot just put them in soil in the pond, you must first use a container like small tubs filled with a recommended pond soil mixture. Your local garden store may have containers specifically designed for use in a pond environment; they are usually made from clay, plastic or wood. The use of containers to house your plant life poses several advantages; they can be moved around the pond easily on occasions when you are cleaning the pond, they can also be removed easily to clean, replace soil, to prune, or if you are using tropical plants they can effortlessly be transported inside the home in winter months.
You must keep fertilizer use to a minimum with aquatic plant life, as you do not want an excessive amount of phosphates and nitrogen present in the water. Some bog plants require you to fertilize them every month, in this case we recommend using a fertilizer made in the form of coated beads or sticks to be planted in the soil with the plant to slowly release nutrients straight to the plant.
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