Floating plants
If floating plants get comfortable in your pond, they will end up by taking it over ! You should therefore keep an eye on their progress and avoid planting certain species, like duckweed which, without the presence of fish, will deprive underwater plants of light necessary for their development.
It is very east to install floating plants in your pond - simply place them on the water in spring and allow them to develop themselves.
Depending on the severity of winter in your region, some plants should be protected from the cold in a ventillated, frost-free shelter.
Common floating plants
- Water hyacinth
- Water chestnuts, with their diamond-shaped leaves which spread over the water surface in round bunches. They produce small white flowers above the water.
- Water lettuce, which have tender light green leaves like a salad.
- Duckweed is a small plant which develops very quickly, even in tropical aquariums (by the way, a good way to get rid of them if you don't have fish is to agitate the surface of the water with a water pump). It forms a thick carpet on the surface of the water which prevents all life beneath the water from developing, as it blocks out the light. It is advisable not to introduce it as you run the risk of not being able to get rid of it. If you buy plants, wash them with clear water.