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| Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard |
| Growing aquatic plants in a thriving water garden has its unique challenges. The key is to be well-prepared from the start. | 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. Generally speaking, aquatic plants should be planted after the last frost of the cool season, once warm spring temperatures have become established and are consistent. (The exact date depends on your particular region and climate and, to a lesser degree, your desire to stagger blooms throughout the season.) In a natural environment, aquatic plants grow in the soil at the bottom of a pond or stream, or along its shoreline. There’s actually a method for growing submerged and shoreline plants in soil within a water garden liner. In fact, some rigid liners are molded with depressions in them to hold soil. The prevailing and preferred planting method, however, is to avoid placing soil directly into the liner, simply because it makes things easier: It eases thinning and fertilizing chores, lessens debris and loose soil that can clog pumps and filters, reduces overall soil needs, makes cleaning the liner easier for you and safer for your plants, and allows you to easily isolate sick plants.
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| Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard |
| It’s best to plant most aquatic plants in submersible containers or baskets with porous sides. This permits easy care, including the ability to quickly reposition the plant in the water garden or remove it for fertilizing, pest control, pruning and deadheading. | Shoreline species should be planted in amended native soil outside the edge of the liner and watered frequently to keep them moist. Note that some shoreline plants can be invasive, and some have soil needs different than typical garden soil. The solution for both of these issues is to install your plants in containers before burying them in the shoreline soil. Within the feature, you can just pour floaters from their containers onto the water surface and let them float away or tether them with nylon fishing leader. Install marginals and deep-water submersibles in prepared soil placed in specialized shallow containers and topped by a thin coat of holding gravel. Submerge the container into the water of the feature to the depth required by the specific plant as indicated on its label.
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