Frequently Asked Questions

We offer prepared Pond Planting schemes (or Starter Kits) – these are available on Planting Schemes page to help customers new to ponds. These are in size according to the surface area of your pond.

Find the right Scheme for your size of pond and we do the choosing of the various pond plants for you. The number of plants of each type you receive is standard in a scheme but you can pick either ‘Mainly British Native’ or ‘Any plant’ or ‘British Native plants only’ from our range.

We make sure you get a balanced scheme for pond areas of assorted shelves with interest across the seasons and for various wildlife to start your pond going.

We grow and send rooted plants in mesh baskets  – best for pond plant root growth and clay loam soil for plants living in water.  You do not have to change the basket or soil on our plants. We have prepared them for you so that you can place them straight into your pond and do not have to buy anything extra or do any work on them yourself.

For more details see our blog post.

Our seeds and young plants are grown in our tunnels. When a plant is in its final sized basket ready to be sent out to a customer it grows outside. They are ready to send at any time of year except when there is ice or snow on the Nursery, when it becomes unsafe for us to work.

The plants sent from us early in the year are potted the previous year and have overwintered outside in Leicestershire.

Yes. Add a specific delivery date of your choice in General Comments as you go through Checkout. This can either be a day of choice in the week to follow or a date weeks in advance. We will manually override the date of dispatch that will be automated onto your email confirmation.

We send pond plants at any time of year except when there is ice on our ponds. You can plant anytime when there is no ice on your pond.

Our plants come rooted into their mesh baskets so they are ‘moving home’ and easily relocate to your pond.

Use our ‘Email when available’ system to give a notification email when a plant you want becomes available again if it is not available.

Plants will be sent out Monday – Thursday  after the order is received to avoid plants being kept wrapped while in transit over a weekend.

They should be delivered to you in 24 hours by APC following dispatch from us (Highlands and Islands 48 hours) and can be tracked using the code sent to you by their email.

For details on how we Pick and Pack your order see our Blog post – Packing your parcels

Container ponds are sent immediately, if in stock, (see our current availability list) or from the manufacturer within 6 weeks of receipt of the order if needed to be made for you.  Plants and support rings will be delivered with or after the pond is delivered.

Shelf pond plants and waterlilies are sent ready rooted in aquatic clay soil in the size basket quoted. Oxygenating plants are sent as bareroot portions or bunches.

All plants are wrapped in newspaper and a plastic bag to keep them damp in transit.

Each plant or group of 3 plants in a bag will have a printed ticket in it with the details:

• Plant name in Latin and the Common English name
• Planting instructions – depth of water over the top of the basket
• Height & flowering season
• Spread of growth for waterlilies
• Plant Passport Number

For examples of our ticketing see our blog post.

Rafting plants (horizontal growth) are grown and sold in 9cm baskets, upright plants are grown and sold in 11cm baskets.

As mail order sending takes place throughout the year we need to cut the plants back so they do not get stressed or damaged in transit.

If a plant has grown taller later in the season & has a lot of foliage it would lose a large amount of water through its leaf growth. Rather than stress the plant in transit we cut it down so that your plant should arrive healthy and happy. Cutting down does not damage your plant but should allow it to establish quickly and put on new growth in its new surroundings.

We are sorry but from 2021 we are no longer able to send to either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland following the change in the EU situation.

w is an area of wet mud where water will stay (especially in Winter) on a stream edge or a wet bog garden

is  a shelf in a pond 13-15cm(5-6″) deep where water will just cover the top of the pond plant basket by 0-5cm (0-2″).

is a shelf in a pond 15-22cm(6-9″) deep where water will cover the top of a pond plant basket by between 5-10cm (2-4″)

is a shelf in a pond 23-44cm(10-17″) deep where water will cover the top of a planted basket by between 15-25cm (6-10″)

is either a shelf or the pond floor which is deeper than 45cm(18″) deep above the top of a planted basket

For more information go to Build a Pond page