When selecting plants for water garden make sure to keep the right proportion of size of container and types of plants in it. A good combination will oxygenate the water, and maintain the ecosystem by taking off nitrogen and keeping the water clear. this would also keep your plants healthy and free from disease.
A general rule is the plants should not cover the 2/3rd of the surface water. so never overcrowd them.
While there are variety of water plants available, still the four basic category remain the same:
Floating Plants:
Floating plants floats freely on the surface of water and can be placed
in all areas of the container. They grow very quickly and required
periodic thinning. By shading there leaves in water, they block light
needed for algae to grow.
- Water Hyacinth
- Water Lettuce
- Parrot's Feather
Surface Plants: Leaves on the long stem of these plants float on water.
- Water Lilies
- Lotus
- Water Hawthorne
- Varigated Four leaf Water Clover
- Yellow Floating Heart
Submerged or Oxygenating Plants: The leaves of submerged plants remain underwater. Roots of such plants may root in soil or float freely. The plants need thinning as they are fast growers. To maintain the health of plants do keep a check on water quality.
- Hornwort
- Cabomba
- Anacharis
- Jungle Vall
Marginal or Bog Plants: Marginal, or bog plants prefer their roots and lower parts submerged. They may be
planted in the shallow areas of a pond or in very moist soil at the edge.
- Black Taro,
- Black heart shaped leaves,
- Sweet Flag
- Zebra,
- Corkscrew
- Horsetail Rush
- Aquatic Canna
- Purple or pink Pickerel Rush,
- Variegated Water Celery,
- Cardinal Flower
- Dwarf Cattail.
Maintenance of Plants:
Water plants grow best in the full sunlight. But if you have shady area, or you want to create a small water garden on your dinning table ....... then choose plants like cattil, rush, reeds, red stem parrot feather, water clover, water hawthone.
Routine Maintenance:
# In Indoor water plants, everything happens very quickly: pest, disease, the compost will become more exhausted. As matter of fact indoor plants should be re-potted and provide fresh compost early in each spring.
# Regular thinning is to be done.
# Submerged plants should be replaced every year.
Simple Step to Start a Water Garden
1. Choose your Container Wisely: It need to hold water, shallow container work good at this. Find any thing in your kitchen that can hold water. like glass dish, cup, old bone china bowl.
2. Choose your Plants: there are variety of plants available and I have given a full list of water plants above in this section, choose any of them you love the most.
3. Take care of your Water garden: Do keep a regular check on water level and odor, and fertilize them with liquid fertilizer.
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