Floating plants
Why floating plants in the pond?
Decorating or putting the pond in order often starts with oxygen plants. This is of course an excellent basis for any pond, as oxygen plants have many good properties that keep the balance in your pond right.
After the oxygen plant stock is in order, applying some floating plants is also worthwhile. Floating plants often have high ornamental value due to their growth and flowering habit, provide shade and absorb many nutrients in their growth.
Benefits of floating plants
As mentioned above, floating plants have some very positive properties for your pond. Below, we will look at these in a little more detail.
Floating plants have high ornamental value
Many floating plants form beautiful flowers. Water hyacinth is a fine example of this, but Crabberry and Frog's-bit also have beautiful blooms. However, the best-known floating plant (although again, technically not really a floating plant) is of course the water lily. This rooting water plant, with its floating leaves, can turn your pond into a true picture! The water lily also has disadvantages; it can be rather rampant! Incidentally, a floating plant like the Water Hyacinth does too, but these are easy to remove with a net.
Floating plants absorb nutrients
Many floating plants grow quickly. Water hyacinth has already been mentioned, but Crabbecheer and Mussel plants are also good at it. This rapid growth requires a lot of nutrients. Nutrients that many floating plants absorb directly from the water column. Algae also need these nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate to grow. Floating plants therefore compete directly with the floating algae and filamentous algae in your pond. As a result, the water will turn green less quickly.
Floating plants provide shade
Some ponds are located in full sunlight. Many aquatic plants can withstand this, but algae love it and will soon turn your pond into a green soup. Of course, measures can be taken against this, but what do floating plants do for it? Because floating plants block sunlight in the places where they grow, they will deprive the floating algae of this sunlight. This gives the floating algae less of a chance. Various fish and amphibian species also like that shade, so this feature contributes to the natural balance of your pond.
English (UK) 
Nederlands 
Deutsch 
Français