Choose Your Oxygenating Pond Plants Here

Water garden plants like normal garden plants do better if placed in the correct spot. Some water garden plants are happy in the bog plants (muddy) area. Water garden plants in many garden centres are difficult to find. Scout around to get your garden pond plants ... See long list below ....

oxygenators aquatic pond plantsOxygenators are those plants that are totally submerged normally and would die if allowed to dry out. Some root into soil and other just float around in the water - without roots. To allow water garden plants of this type  to remain better submerged attach the bottom of the plant to a pebble using an elastic band or something similar.

Oxygenators as a class of  water garden plants assist in keeping plant water clean and clear by absorbing nutrients. Potted oxygenators include Water Crowfoot, and Water Violet. Monkey tail, Hortwort, Parrots feather are also typical water garden plants that act as oxygenators.

Other categories of water garden plants differing from the oxygenator class can be broken up as follows: 

Marginal water garden plants such as Iris, and Arum Lily which like to stand in water up to about 15cm (6). Some can grow quite tall and be blown over by the wind so you may have to weight the pot or crate down with stones.

Shallow water garden plants or water garden bog plants like Marsh Marigold, Iris, Water mint. These plants like water about 5 cm (2) deep and are good examples of water pond plants.

Deep water garden plants the best known of which is the water lily most people spell it water lilly. Please forgive me if I skip between the lilly ponds and the lily ponds, the water lily and the water lilly.

Floating water garden plants with their hair-like roots that protrude into the water and need no soil at all. These plants certainly assist in keeping water clear since they absorb nutrients from the water and do a good job of oxygenating lilly ponds. Water Hyacynth, or the water soldier plant are examples of this type of water garden plants.

Oxygenating Plants

Name Family Flowering Period Description
Callitriche autumnalis. crystalwort autumnal starwort

 

 Calltrichaceae Autumn/winter Useful plant for autumn/winter, one of the few submerged plants active at that time of the year.
Ceratophyllum demersum. hornwort Ceratophyllaceae winter Dark green wit rigid, branching stems densely clothed with foliage, growing eight in a whorl and repeatedtly forked. A semi floating plant.
Crassula helmsii Crassulaceae winter A dainty plant with reddish stems and small, crowded oval leaves.
Eleocharis acicularis. hair grass Cyperceae July to August Slender little tufted plant 5-10 cm with needle-like stems, each terminating in a dark brown oblong spikelet.
Elodea canadensis. Canadian pond weed Hydrocharitaceae May to September A submerged water plant 5-15 cm long with thickly leaved branching stems.
Fontinalis antipyretica. incombustible water moss willow moss Fontinalaceae   Grayish-green in colour with very long branched stems, thickly clothed with coarse, three ranked leaves. Excellent oxygenator. Used in Scandinavia in the past for caulking chimneys.
Hottonia palustris. water violet Primulaceae winter Charming native aquatic, bearing handsome, pinnately-divided foliage and whorls of lilac flowers. A good oxygenator.
Larosiphon major. (Elodea crispa) Hydrocharitaceae winter This plant resembles a giant elodea with reflexed foliage arranged in broken whorls around the branches stems. Excellent oxygenator for all types of ponds.
Myriophyllum spicatum Haloragaceae winter Bears reddish foliage in whorls of four.
Potamageton natans Potamogetonaceae May to June Has two forms of foliage, the upper being like reddish aponogeton leaves and very narrow. We do not recommend introducing this plant into ponds or lakes as it is extremely invasive.
Ranunculus aquatilis. water crowfoot Ranunculaceae winter Good oxygenator. Leaves are of two types, lower ones being always submerged and divided into numerous hair-like segments whilst the other ones float on the surface. Flowers are white, small and around with yellow stems.

Source: Anglo Aquarium Plant catalogue (1993)