What's the best plants for a pond?

Just a quick video where I ramble on about some of the different plant zones inside a pond and the pros and cons for plants in these zones. I also talk a bit about propagating pond plants, how to plant them and some of my personal favourites.
A while back I wrote an article on my website, it will contain all the plants I listed in the video, plus some others. Check it out if you're interested. (ozponds.com/40...)

[@TerraMagnus]

“Canna Tropicanna” is often sold as a terrestrial garden plant but it works wonderfully as a bog plant. Its flowers bring pollinators, and the big broad leaves bring tree frogs. They grow up to about two meters tall and those big leaves are hungry for nutrients. The space between the stems below the surface act as a nursery for baby fish.

[@WheelerRanch]

I love them, and only recently added them to my bogs! A lot of the terrestrials can easily adapt to the bogs, love it! Thank you for all the info you graciously share here @ozponds

[@Liftingup]

I just got two of them, so excited!

[@Ozponds]

I’d only add it to really large bogs its roots are crazy.

[@deniseblank6568]

I can never purchase them, they are always sold out every year , I’ve tried several nurseries on line. 😢

[@sandyl1899]

I just picked up some on sale. I’m excited! The pot is absolutely packed with plants!! I’m getting a great bang for my buck on these. Thanks for the idea!!

[@francus7227]

Thanks, Kev. Your clips often answer questions I've had on my mind. One being: Do lillies really have to have soil/clay? Initially? Maybe it's a good idea. But when they out outgrow the medium, they'll do fine. Especially in a well established pond. This clip also stimulated a new question. If a plant has its root system half in the pond and half outside, will the root system wick or siphon water over the liner edge and lower the resting "tide line"? I tickled the thumbs up 👍 button to feed the algorithm monsters.

[@Ozponds]

Plants certainly can add to wicking. The biggest issue occurred when the roots straddle the “wet zone” and the “dry zone” when that happens the liner has the potential to get pulled down below the water line. When that happens it’s not a wick it’s a proper leak.

[@francus7227]

@Ozponds Okay ..... This a BIG issue that needs to be blocked at the time of construction. I will build a root barrier. Thanks.

[@ScottRawdin]

Kev, brilliant, thank you. Your pond is so beautiful it makes me dreamy while listening to the technical advice.

[@Ozponds]

I have a habit of putting people to sleep 😉

[@AaronHahnStudios]

Mate, all aside your plants by the side of your pond look fantastic! The health of them and proportion of scale is perfect.

[@Ozponds]

Cheers mate 🍻

[@janetrussell3288]

Love milfoil and bacopa too! In Melbourne Australia, and probably Australia more generally, Indigenous Nurseries often carry a range of water and marginal plants, and some ferns, often much cheaper than elsewhere. Goodenia humilis and gracilis are a couple of good marginals as they are easy and flower for a long time. Crassula helmsii is another of my favourites as it looks delicate, but isn’t.

[@Ozponds]

Thanks for sharing. 👍

[@smittykoi]

Love the mares tail look's like little Christmas trees 😋👍

[@sweetkoiyo]

Love all those mentioned. I also love the Yellow Flag, Creeping Jenny, and Baby Sun Rose. All wonderful plants for bogs. Great update Kev. ❤

[@insAneTunA]

Yellow flag iris is exceptional suitable for taking up large amounts of nutrients and bog or bio filters.

[@TerraMagnus]

@@insAneTunA be careful… it’s also considered invasive in many areas.

[@insAneTunA]

@@TerraMagnus Ah I see, here in the Netherlands the yellow flagged iris is a native plant. But it is true that they spread easily. They even grow without much problems outside of the water. And in my garden they pop up all over the place because in the beginning I did not cut the seed bulbs, and those seeds germinate very easy. Now I cut the seed bulbs after they have bloomed. And if I do not like it where a yellow iris pops up it is fairly easy to remove since their roots are not going deep into the soil. I also have the Germanic blue iris growing in the soil. But those spread a bit less quick.

[@insAneTunA]

People need to make sure that if they plant the yellow flagged iris that it is the Iris pseudacorus, because other varieties might look like it but they can be toxic for animals. The nice part about this plant, which is native to Europe, Western Asia and northwest Africa, that it doesn't grow in water that is deeper than 1 ft deep or so, therefore it cannot overgrow the entire pond if the pond has deeper areas.

[@MandyJane123700]

Bacopa caroliniana is a fantastic bog plant. It grows like crazy and is really pretty. I also have water sprite growing emersed in a basket of gravel. I had no idea it would grow like that, it's a beautiful fern.

[@Ozponds]

Very nice 👍

[@alexline4131]

Yes, thank you! Exactly what I needed.

[@54II45]

this is so hypnotic

[@Flossy_tops]

I live in the northern hemisphere and continually look for the best plants for my pond… the bog filter was a good idea adopted from your channel, however my search continues 👍

[@Ozponds]

The best plant is diversity. There’s no one “best plant”.

[@Flossy_tops]

@@Ozponds agreed but I’m never sure what will work best in my climate

[@Ozponds]

@@Flossy_tops how does nature filter water in your climate? I bet it’s the same.

[@Flossy_tops]

@@Ozponds yet again can’t disagree… it’s a learning process but my knowledge is limited. However the pond is not looking too bad right now so I must be doing something right (especially with a bog filter) … As always thank you for your videos, knowledge and interaction… You do a cracking job 👍

[@lindarackstraw7711]

That was fascinating thank you 😊

[@Ozponds]

Glad you enjoyed it 👍

[@Jonas187-qc4tw]

Hi Kev! Your channel got me interested in bog filters. Last year my little pond was disgusting stinking green water and nothing was living in in it, now my 500l pond has a 50l bog filter for the last two months and the water has almost as many ppm as our tap water. Natural wildlife has started living in it and I'm now looking for fish! The bog filter is a nice spot to plant lots of beautiful plants and I've added an additional big stream as well. What isn't so nice is that the stream has problems with leaking but I'm hopefully going to fix that soon. Thanks for your videos on how to make bog filters! Greetings from Germany.

[@Ozponds]

Great to hear the bog was a success. Sorry to hear about the leaking. Hope you fix it soon 🤞

[@MIKEZG]

I have a hard time with floaty plants, the koi/gold fish barely let them grow I just need more plants & in different areas

[@Ozponds]

Yes. Goldfish and koi love a lot of plants especially floaters. The beauty of having a bog seperate to the main pond 👍

[@MIKEZG]

@@Ozponds i blocked off the bog with sandstone, now only baby fish can gain access, they will keep the algae off the roots, yet wont full on tear the plants apart, there is still space for clean water to be pushed back into the main pond area, so not to worried.

[@Ozponds]

@MIKEZG nice 👍

[@silicondave2797]

Great video. Thanks Kev. Make a great weekend !

[@Ozponds]

You too Dave 🍻

[@Nozinbonsai]

Hakonechloa grass is also a stunner.

[@later_daze_4080]

I didn't know you could grow Impatiens with roots submerged! I'm going to grab some this weekend and give it a try!

[@Ozponds]

You’ll be so glad you did.

[@insAneTunA]

Loved it ! 👍

[@Liftingup]

Mint went into my bog filter, if you are looking for an instant spreader. Be careful though.

[@Ozponds]

Yeah mint goes mad!

[@bluewinds10]

That well known hardware store in Aus has a really great range of water plants - much better than any garden centre I have been to and much cheaper too - (Although this may just be in Tas?)

[@Ozponds]

You’re lucky. I have a limited range maybe 5 plants @ $15-$20 each.

[@bluewinds10]

@@Ozponds I have actually purchased 16 different species (from probably about 30) and they were in small pots for $7 and large pots for $14 and they had 5 colours of water lilies for about $30 (White, apricot, yellow, light pink and dark pink) - tropical ones have different colours from the temperate ones.

[@Ozponds]

@@bluewinds10 nice work 👍

[@user-si6cl2kx8x]

Thank you for your work! Tell me, is it possible to put an ionizer in a swamp filter? Will the ionizer interfere with the operation of the filter? Thank you.

[@Ozponds]

Copper ioniser? It shouldn’t kill bacteria. Will kill shrimp and snails. I personally wouldn’t use one.

[@kathrinepet7623]

Thank you for the video very helpful. How deep does a bog filter have to be??

[@Ozponds]

I don’t have a certain depth in mind, just an overall volume.

[@kathrinepet7623]

@@Ozponds thank you

[@richielavery2446]

Hey Kev, would pitcher plants (fly traps) have any place in a pond system/bog filter? Thanks for all the knowledge!

[@Ozponds]

For sure. Great addition.

[@richielavery2446]

@@Ozponds cheers, I’ve collected them for years but recently set up a pond so will give it a go 👍🏻

[@garrettscott4094]

I mean, who doesn't love some good Baby Tears.

[@timjohnson6278]

Great video. Any recommendation for a pond plant that grows in gravel only (no soil) in baskets? Im afraid soil will bring algae back. Thanks

[@Ozponds]

You can pretty much grow any pond plant direct in the gravel. All the ones I mentioned in the video.

[@awayfreedom]

Hi Kev! What kind of bacope you use and like? Monnieri? Caroliniana?

[@Ozponds]

Monnieri does better for me. I’ve used both.

[@saralynostwinkle6429]

Do u go by zones too over there? I want perennials in my pond, bog, and brook. I want to know what zone u r so i can see if i can grow some of your neat plants

[@Ozponds]

I think I would fall in US zone 9. But we don’t use the same system so I’m just using what a quick google search told me. My minimum temp in winter is -5C my maximum in summer is 40C

[@skiphardin7259]

Will a bog filter work if I don't have fish in the pond?

[@Ozponds]

Yes

[@suzannemoran7281]

Thank you Kev, I will try some of the plants you have mentioned. Do you think that it makes for less maintenance if you put your plants straight into the pebbles instead of putting them into a pot? 😊

[@Ozponds]

I wouldn’t say it lowers the maintenance.

[@nikas200]

Great vid. Are the ferns planted in water on the margins? Also, an idea for a future video, the fish we can use on temperate zone ponds beside Koi and goldfish.

[@Ozponds]

Yes, the ferns have wet feet inside the liner, on the margins.

[@nikas200]

@Ozponds in case of a tree fern you plant it outside right? Arent the roots to big and able to cause damage to the liner?

[@Ozponds]

@@nikas200 maybe I’ll let you know in 5 years.

[@kymbo72]

Great information Kev! do you have any tips/ideas for killing off a plant in a pond when i can't pull it all out? i stupidly planted a shield pennywort in my stream, and slowly but surely it took over. i have recently literally taken apart half my stream and pulled out as much as I can, but the rhizomes snap off so easily and grow under huge rocks that are all foamed in and i cant possibly move the rocks. hence, the rhizomes keep just producing more plant. i keep picking off the leaves as soon as i see them, but it is still trying to spread. i tried carefully painting a tint bit of straight roundup weed killer onto some leaves, but it didn't kill it. any ideas would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[@insAneTunA]

Maybe a weird suggestion, and I have no idea if it works. But if you can reach it, meaning that you do not necessarily need to use the stream, it might be an idea to drill some holes into the roots so that the bugs can eat the roots. If the bugs can get inside the roots they will eat them. But it would require that you do not use the stream for a while. I would not suggest to use toxic chemicals because most of them have a long term negative effect on aquatic life. It is very hard to get it out of the system.

[@Ozponds]

If it’s in the stream could you turn it off for a period of time, so it fully dries out?

[@kymbo72]

@Ozponds yeah I could try that. I didn't like the idea of killing off all the bacteria present in the stream and also any other plants too, but maybe I will have to do that next summer. It might be what it's going to take. Thanks

[@kymbo72]

@insAneTunA the roots aren't thick enough to drill, and snap very easily

[@insAneTunA]

@@kymbo72 Could a pressure washer do the job? Or is that too much force? It might destroy some foam, but it seems to me that the foam can be replaced. And some pressure washer brands have a variable output. Another thing that might work very well and that is much less abrasive if you will, is hot steam. I have a small steam cleaner and in the past I have tried to use that as a weed killer and that works perfectly fine, not fast and practical for weeding an entire garden, but it worked. So if you can steam blast the roots they might die a lot faster. And it is not toxic. And my very last resort would be to overload that particular plant, of course when the stream is not running, with some salt or calcium or some KOH, but not in such large amounts that it would hurt the pond when the stream goes back on again. And to leave it dry for a couple of days while it is soaking in the substance that you added. Just do not use toxic chemicals or vinegar but rather something that is used anyway to treat pond water. But when only a single plant gets the full treatment when the stream is not running, it is very likely that it will die.

[@Ferdinand-yx5wh]

Is there any way to contact you directly

[@Ozponds]

I get too many emails. My aim is to help lots of people. Therefore, I try and focus on creating content that can help many, rather than one at a time.

[@Ferdinand-yx5wh]

@@Ozponds Would like to try something useful and help more people to recognize that

[@Ozponds]

@@Ferdinand-yx5wh I don’t understand. What have you got in mind?

[@Ferdinand-yx5wh]

@@Ozponds I have product for you to review which related to you content and help more people to recognize

[@Ozponds]

@@Ferdinand-yx5wh you can send an email to [e-mail]

[@ChrisShortyAllen]

A hippo will solve that one. Keep the water running.

[@highspiritsfarm781]

Keep inspiring!! I only hope my pond looks half this good when I’m done. Signed…Proud owner or should I say facilitator of a big baby pond!💙🪷this is darn addictive!

[@Ozponds]

You’ll do a great job 👍