Why Does Your Pond Need Plants?
A pond without plants is nothing more than a hole in the ground filled with water. While water is attractive, supplementing it with plants makes it even better. They'll help improve the aesthetics and provide critical life-support systems for the animals and fish that live in them. Regardless of whether you're a homeowner or HOA/golf course manager tasked with the maintenance and upkeep of the ponds, here are a few reasons why you should consider adding some plants when the weather starts to warm up:
Shelter
Fish and other aquatic wildlife need shelter from predators and the blisteringly hot summer sun. Plants like water lilies can provide shade from which fish can take refuge. They'll also help keep the water temperatures down, as the lilies absorb most of the sun's warmth. Ponds also provide a place for fish and frogs to lay eggs and spawn. Many natural predators exist in ponds, and plants allow fish and other animals to camouflage and hide.
Aesthetics
Attractive ponds increase homeowner associations' property values and improve golfers' overall experience. Nobody wants to see a bare hole in the ground with murky water dyed artificial blue. Plants of all sizes, colors, and shapes can turn a dull-looking pond into something beautiful. Residents will love the pops of color they see when walking up to their neighborhood pond. Bigger plants such as taro and horsetail add dimension above and beyond the flat 2D view of the water surface. Plants naturally attract beautiful birds, which adds to the overall experience of why people have a backyard pond.
The Ecosystem
Most importantly, plants help balance the natural ecosystem. They provide biological filtration for elements such as ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and nitrogen. Plants help cut off the food source for nuisance algae and can help prevent an unsightly (and smelly) summertime outbreak. Adding plants to your pond can also save money on maintenance. By filtering out all of the elements that can feed an algae outbreak, the water will stay crystal clear—instead of treating unsightly water with potentially dangerous chemicals that only work for a few days or weeks at a time.
Top 10 Water Plants
Now that we've shown you the reasons you need to add plants to your pond, here is a list of some of the more popular ones you can consider: Taro Pond Plants—There are many different varieties of taro that you can plant in your pond. They tend to thrive best in part to full sunlight. They are big and can grow to upwards of 48" in height! Water Lettuce—Water lettuce looks like a fuzzy lime green rosette of leaves that resembles a floating head of lettuce. The leaves provide texture from an aesthetic perspective as the plant floats lazily on the surface of the water. Blue Iris—If you're looking to add a splash of color to your pond, Blue Iris are usually the first ones to blossom in the springtime. They come in various colors and types and can grow to four feet tall! Sweet Flag—Sweet Flag is also known as the Gold Japanese Sweet Flag. It looks a bit like grass and is a light green color with bright yellow stripes. It's a year-round plant that's very hardy and works very well in golf courses and HOA ponds. Waterlilies – Almost everyone is familiar with the beautiful water lily. It comes in a wide range of colors, such as indigo, blue, green, violet, and yellow, to name just a few. They can range in size from two inches to over twelve and are very hardy plants. Cardinal Flower – The Cardinal Flower is a bright red color that does well when planted in the shallow areas of the pond. It tends to attract birds by the dozens. The plant itself can grow upwards of three feet tall. Horsetail Pond Plants—Horsetail Pond Plants look just like reeds but have a striking green/beige/black color graduation. They can grow to 24" in height and spread out rapidly.
Pond and Lake Dredging Services
Another way to help prevent unsightly nuisance algae outbreaks is to have your ponds dredged at least once a year. At American Underwater Services, we have decades of experience assisting HOAs, golf course managers, and homeowners in cleaning up their ponds and waterways. Call us at (817) 377-8512 or contact us here to learn more about how our services can help improve not only your ponds, lakes, and rivers but also the quality of life for all who recreate and live nearby. [author_box]
Anthony Di Iulio the founder, president and co-owner of American Underwater Services, Inc., started his business in 1999 with only three employees. Today this commercial diving company employs nearly 30 people and handles over 500 projects annually. Anthony moved to Fort Worth from Louisiana with his family in 1976. He worked summers during high school welding underwater for a marina on Benbrook Lake. Eventually he took scuba lessons after almost drowning on the job. Those lessons led him to training at a deep sea diving school in Houston, which included training on offshore oil rigs. Anthony spent several years in Louisiana working on offshore rigs and on inland jobs at power plants and dams before starting American Underwater Services, Inc.
