Preparing the Soil for Your Aquatic Plants

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Rich Binsacca

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It’s easy to fall for a stunning water garden. The unique and colorful plants…the sun and moon reflecting off the water…the calming whisper of a small fountain – it’s enough to put any home gardener into a trance. But what many don’t realize is that under the surface lies the true “dirt” behind the water garden’s beauty: the soil.

Two distinctly different types of soils are needed for inside and alongside water garden ponds. The soil for aquatic plants submerged within the liner generally should have moderate fertility and a dense texture, as well as permit water to easily penetrate the plant roots. It’s sold in premixed bags, or you can blend your own from sterile potting soil, humus and sand. Shoreline plantings outside the liner, on the other hand, require moist garden loam. To properly prepare your soil for either type of planting, just take the steps shown in the two following sets of pictures and described in their captions.

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Soil for Submerged Aquatic Plants, Step 1: Mix equal parts of humus, sand and sterile potting soil. Add a double portion of dry clay to the mix. This is your base soil for aquatic plants.

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Soil for Submerged Aquatic Plants, Step 2: Line a submersible container with porous landscape fabric and fill it with the soil mix. Using a diffused nozzle on your garden hose, soak the soil until saturated, washing away the smallest particles.

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Soil for Submerged Aquatic Plants, Step 3: Soak the entire soil-filled submersible container overnight in a basin of water to fully saturate it and remove all air. Any floating organic material will become saturated with water and sink – gently mix it into the soil. After planting, a top layer of pea gravel will keep the soil from washing out of the container once it’s in your water garden.

Facts

Soil plays a different role for aquatic plants than it does for those that grow in your garden. Aquatics get most of their nutrition from the dissolved nutrients found in the feature’s water, not from the soil. So what does the soil do? It anchors the plants, keeping them in place even where the water is moving swiftly.

Tips

Generally, plant aquatic plants after the last frost, once warm temperatures have become established and are consistent. (The exact date depends on your climate and, to a lesser degree, your desire to stagger blooms throughout the growing season.)

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Water Gardening: Prepare to Plant
Now that you’ve installed your water feature, it’s time for the real fun to begin: adding your plants. While most aspects of planting aquatics are similar to planting other gardens, there are just enough differences to add a little extra interest and discovery.
Planting Your Water Garden: Preparing Containers and Baskets
Planting aquatics in specialized baskets and containers makes pond maintenance and plant care easier, as well as allows constant water circulation and helps prevent erosion. Learn the easy steps to properly preparing these containers for planting.

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