Is your aquatic flora not thriving like it should be?
Maybe it’s even dying.
Sorry, but this is not an uncommon thing, so do not fear!
The solution should be relatively straightforward, with the main point is you should act quickly.
It can be anything from higher temperatures of an improper PH level. You may have too many fish or more fish could be a positive. Or, simply too many plants, not enough plants, or too few plants in the pond to begin with.
Read below for 7 reasons your aquatic plants are dying.
1. pH
Since fish in a pond have a natural level of blood pH around 7, the appropriate pH level in a pond would be about 6.5-7.5.
You can test pond pH using a testing kit (found online or in stores).
If your pond is too alkaline, ie. greater than 7.5 pH, you may have to try white vinegar to lower the pH.
Though, you must relocate any fish in the pond first!
2. Too Hot or Too Cold
Pond plants are simple creatures, and the temperature in your pond will dictate whether the plants are happy or pushin’ daisies.
In the summer, it is important that the pond has plenty of shade, so the wildlife and plants don’t get too heated.
Along with that, many times, improving the circulation of the pond can be beneficial.
This allows the water to “cool itself off”. So, one would be a bigger and better pump.
This will keep the water moving to keep it cool.
Another option would be to add some type of waterfall or other water fixture. A waterfall can cool your pond!
That said, another way to make sure your pond stays cool is to plant just enough plants, not overdo it, and the same for fish.
You can try to provide balance for it to be a cool enough pond.
What about winter? This is a bigger challenge as pond plants typically go dormant or die in the cold weather. That’s fine.
That said, you can just buy a heater. The heater will suck in the cold water and send out warm water.
Remember this: Make sure it keeps the surface from freezing over! This is important because it allows the pond to continue to circulate air!
3. Sunlight
As you’ve probably guessed, one of the factors when it comes to your pond plants and their health is sunlight:
- Too much sunlight may be detrimental since it will heat them up too much.
- Likewise, too little sunlight is not good, because the plants will do worse and lose some chlorophyll. You can usually tell simply by watching them and how much the pond gets.
When the plants get too much sunlight, they will turn yellow. The same goes for if they get too little sunlight; they will be yellow.
Your plants should not be in a shady area at all if you are subject to hotter temperatures, at least not most of the time.
Usually, the plants are getting too little sunlight.
Works Fine: Ponds are typically healthiest when there is a lot of sunlight. If you have a week of unseasonably hot weather (yes…who doesn’t?), you can always use a large umbrella or something to that effect!
4. Toxic Water
Your pond may have had a lot of the plants die off because the water was toxic.
There are many causes for this, a likely cause could be the fish are overcrowded in addition to, overfed.
With a few fish in the right quantities to have a positive contribution to a pond, too many fish just creates waste.
You may consider how many fish you have in the pond, or even if you are potentially overfeeding the fish.
On this example, the food is left uneaten and ultimately rotten, thus creating dirty pond water. So your fix for this is.
First, check to see if your pond is overcrowded with the fish. Second, make sure you have only fed the fish, only enough so food is not laying around.
If you are feeling concerned, then you can always, add some beneficial bacteria to break it all down.
Or procure a good old fashioned biofilter!
5. Variety
How many plants do you have in your pond?
A few, or a variety? A few plants is great and all, but the more plants, the more the merrier!
Sure, they will eat up waste as food, but they will also shade fish during extremely hot or sunny days.
In moderation, the more plants the better!
Some of the best plants for ponds are creeping jenny, water lettuce, cardinal flower, horsetail, and pickerel.
They are also known for their beauty and vigor, and they provide fish with shelter!
Plants that are no-fail plants for ponds are the following!
Elephant Ear
When it comes to the best plants for a pond, you can’t go wrong with the Elephant Ear plants!
When you plant one elephant ear, it will not be long until it grows several others from its roots (like a cattail).
Those are called pups, and you can carefully pull them out and replant them somewhere else.
If the goal is to have a healthy, low maintenance pond plant, Elephant Ear plants will certainly accomplish that!
Hornwort
Hornwort is a resilient, rapidly-growing aquatic plant that grows on the winter base of ledges in ponds.
It can survive all winter, even a cold winter! It is grass-like and grows sprawling like grass along the bottom of a pond.
As a note of caution, be sure that hornwort doesn’t grow too much, or your fish may have difficulty swimming or getting trapped!
Fortunately, hornwort is easy to grow and easy to manage!
Cattail
Cattail is one of hardiest pond plants out there and designed to survive.
Many people see their cattails for even the entire year! They do survive the winter. Well, the stalks do since they disappear when it gets cold! However, by spring, they will return to their upright position.
As soon as the water gets warm, new roots and chutes will appear.
If you happen to get overwhelmed by cattails, the only way to get rid of them is to just pull them up at the roots.
Typically, the plant is robust enough, the remaining cattails should not be harmed.
Luckily: Cattails generally do not get wild and they are a good pond plant. If you want a robust and healthy plant, cattails are just right!
Water Lettuce
When considering its name, it looks like a leafy plant floating on the water.
This is especially beneficial for ponds as it limits the growth of some algae.
That’s because it purifies the water, actually removing, cadmium, and zinc, toxicity.
And it is able to do this with roots sinking down deep into the water!
Cardinal Flower
Cardinal flowers are beautiful, low-maintenance water plants.
They have lovely, showy flowers and grow in the families along the waters edge.
In addition to that, cardinal flowers attract both hummingbirds and butterflies.
With this in mind, they are an excellent plant choice for a nature lover!
Creeping Jenny
Creeping Jenny is a lovely, flowering, sprawling plant that requires very little care.
In general, it will root in the edges of the pond and then will float across the surface in a stunning manner.
It makes a lovely edging for ponds, but even better, it provides shade for any fish you might have in the water!
6. Fish Can Be Helpful
Do you have fish in your pond?
If not, this may be part of the problem with your plants dying.
Plants can really benefit from waste to eat, and fish produce this waste like nobody’s business (which also is why balance is important).
So, how many fish should you have in your pond?
A good rule of thumb is to have one 6″ fish for every 1000 gallons of water in the pond;
That said, you can often get away with a few more than this. Again, just a number to get you started.
The best fish for your pond is Koi, fancy goldfish, catfish, plecos, etc.
Always Good Idea: If you are looking to increase the health of your pond, a few healthy, waste-eating fish should do the job!
7. Chemicals In Ponds Are Harmful
If pond plants are dying, another consideration is that you may have too many chemicals in the pond.
Both fish and plants may react negatively to chemicals.
You should always make sure that everything you put in your pond is all-natural, or there could be more harm than good.
What if you believe you already have too many chemicals in the pond?
There are some products that can assist with this. Typically, you would use these products in combination with some freshwater!
Also, other plants can act to help keep down some chemicals and/or toxins (Water Lettuce in particular).
Conclusion
Now that you’re aware of 7 reasons why pond plants die, you can easily identify the culprit behind the issue.
However, remember there are a plethora of measures you can put in place for your plants to be much healthier.
Were any of the plants above interesting to you?
Or maybe you could use more fish in the pond as well.
Ignoring the issues with the plants will not help, but following the advice here, can get your pond plants back to health!