10 Plants for your koi pond or waterfall
There are many different pond plant types to choose from, we have made the selection easy for you by including or top ten favorites here.
1 Creeping Jenny
Often used as a ground cover in your garden, but it can also be used along the waters edge in your pond or stream, Creeping Jenny fares excellently when used in water gardening applications. Growing approximately two inches in height, it’s a great filler to soften edges of rocks with its bright leaves creating a vivid contrast against the cool gray of wet stone. Tiny yellow flowers appear on the plant throughout summer, giving it added appeal. Creeping Jenny is a perennial and best used in Zones 3-10.
2 Floating Plants - Water Hyacinth and Water Lettuce
These are two types of floating plants with are easy to care for in your water feature. They help in the filtration of your water feature and provide cover for your pond fish. Water Hyacinth have a dark green circular shinny leaves and the occasional bloom if they receive plenty of sunlight. Water lettuce, another fast grower has lighter green rippled leaves. To keep them contained to a pocket or cove in your pond, try fishing line or a small plastic tube. They also work well in container bowls and spillway bowls in your water feature.
3 Waterlilies
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Waterlilies are stunning plants in the water garden and often the reason why many gardeners add a pond to their landscape. These beautiful pond plants are characterized by amazing flowers representing all colors in the light spectrum from red, peach, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet (including the collective white), and a number of shades in between.
The flowers range from a mere two inches in diameter to some blooms measuring 12″ or more. Their leaves typically float unless they’re crowded, and are more or less round, ranging from 2″ across to over 6 feet for the giant Victoria. Waterlilies are available in both hardy and tropical varieties. Here in the Atlanta area, lily pads should be fertilized 2-3 times a year to maintain lots of colorful blooms.
The flowers range from a mere two inches in diameter to some blooms measuring 12″ or more. Their leaves typically float unless they’re crowded, and are more or less round, ranging from 2″ across to over 6 feet for the giant Victoria. Waterlilies are available in both hardy and tropical varieties. Here in the Atlanta area, lily pads should be fertilized 2-3 times a year to maintain lots of colorful blooms.
4 Taro Plant
Several varieties of taro are available for your pond and do well in full to part sun. This is a tropical plant suited for Zones 8-11. It' a impressive, leafy water lover grows to about 48″ and always makes a striking appearance in the water garden.
5 Pickerel Plant
Available in blue, white, and pink lavender spiked flowers, pickerel is a great choice for ponds with its shiny, green heart-shaped foliage. The blooms are long lasting and create a beautiful display when planted in masses. It grows about 24-30″ in height and performs well in Zones 4-10.
6 Water Forget-Me-Not
Water Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis scorpoides) is a captivating aquatic plant that adds a touch of enchantment to ponds, streams, and wetlands.
One of the most striking features of water forget-me-not is its petite, sky-blue flowers, which typically bloom from late spring to early summer. Each flower, also available in pink and white, has a distinct yellow center, enhancing its overall charm. The plant’s growth habit is low and spreading, with fine, lance-shaped leaves that form dense rosettes. It can reach a height of six inches and a spread of up to 12 inches, making it an ideal choice for edging along the banks of ponds or as a floating plant.
One of the most striking features of water forget-me-not is its petite, sky-blue flowers, which typically bloom from late spring to early summer. Each flower, also available in pink and white, has a distinct yellow center, enhancing its overall charm. The plant’s growth habit is low and spreading, with fine, lance-shaped leaves that form dense rosettes. It can reach a height of six inches and a spread of up to 12 inches, making it an ideal choice for edging along the banks of ponds or as a floating plant.
7 Sweet Flag
Also known as golden Japanese sweetflag (Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’), this plant is ideal for containers and water gardens alike. It’s extremely flexible, as it can be grown with its toes in the water or partially submerged. The beautiful foliage is light green and highlighted with bright yellow stripes, remaining beautiful all season and sometimes through the winter. An all-around great plant that adds a bright, cheerful spot to any water feature!
8 Blue Iris
Many water gardeners enjoy the elegant splendor of the aquatic iris, which is among the first plants to bloom in the spring. Aquatic irises comprise such a large and diverse group – there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of cultivated and natural hybrids. The blue flag iris is a native plant that can grow up to four feet tall! A wetland lover, the blue flag’s large flowers are breathtaking, ranging in shades from pale blue to purple.
9 Dwarf Papyrus
The Dwarf Papyrus (Cyperus happen) is a great textural addition to water gardens. The firework-like flower heads add interest and turn bronze in late summer and fall. These plants can can grow up to 40inches tall and 24 inches wide. They perform best in full to partial sun and can flourish in consistently moist soil or in 3-5 inches of standing water.
10 Water Hibiscus
Water Hibiscus has deep crimson flowers 5-8 inches wide. This plant can grow over 4ft tall and has pink bark on its tall and slender branches. Usually just one of these plants in a water feature is enough to make a colorful impact. Like other pond plants, the water Hibiscus is trimmed all the way down to 6 inches during the winter.