The Benefits Of Floating Pond Plants

Bylucifer blake

Floating pond plants are great for many reasons. They help increase the appearance of your backyard pond by clearing the water, reducing algae growth, increasing oxygen, and supplying natural foods to animals living in the pond.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the best floating pond plants and their benefits:

  1. Azolla

Azolla, also known as water fern or mosquito fern is a free-floating pond plant giving the pond natural filtration and shade. It is suitable for ponds with gentle water flow and requires minimal care. Azolla can thrive well in a wide PH range and grows best in medium to high lighting. They serve as natural foods for fish because they are loaded with vitamins and protein.

  1. Water lettuce

Water lettuce, also known as water cabbage is an excellent source of food for KOI and baby fishes. It grows fast up to 10 inches wide, so it may spread over the pond in only a few months. With its thick green leaves and small flowers in the center of the plant, water lettuce will beautify your pond. It helps to clean the water of decomposed byproducts keeping it healthy for fishes and other aquatic animals to live in. Water lettuce also prevents algae buildup by serving as a shade against sunlight.

  1. Water Hyacinth

Water Hyacinth is one of the most common floating pond plants because they act as natural water filters. Buy water hyacinth for sale to help clean impurities from bodies of water and prevent algal blooms. They have an extremely fast growth rate, and each plant produces up to 20 flower stalks. Its purple flowers bloom beautifully in late summer up till early fall. Purchase water hyacinth for sale today to improve the quality of your pond. Water hyacinths have lots of benefits; however, they need to be cut back regularly as too many of them may inhibit oxygen leading to the death of aquatic animals in the pond.

  1. Duck Weed

Duckweed is a freshwater plant with tiny leaves and even tinier root systems that serve as natural water filters. It produces oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis, which benefits aquatic animals. It is also a nutritious food source for ducks, tadpoles, turtles, and fishes. Duckweed spreads to cover the pond surface, which shades it from sunlight and prevents algae overgrowth.

  1. Salvinia

Salvinia, also known as Spangles or Watermoss is a floating fern that grows in clusters on the surface of the water. It has no flowers and grows quickly up to 3cm with sufficient nutrition and light. It prefers slow-moving, fertile, warm freshwater and can spread by vegetative fragments. It helps reduce nitrate concentration in water and aids in water purification that’s to its filtering abilities.

Deducing from the above examples, we can see the general benefits of floating pond plants. The benefits include; filtering toxins and decomposed by-products in water, blocking sunlight from reaching the end of the pond, thereby minimizing algae growth, good hiding place for fish against high temperatures, and supplies natural food to KOI and goldfish.