Planting a new pond with a Planting Scheme

Planting a new pond:

We can send out our Planting Schemes with all the different types of plants you need to plant a new pond quickly and easily.

• Create your new pond and fill it with rainwater.
• Put some plants in your water as soon as it is filled.
• Water without plants can quickly become unbalanced.
• Use a barley straw product - either Barleystraw minibales or Barley Bio Algae Control for the smaller pond.

For a new pond you need:

• Submerged oxygenating plants - easy planting -  bareroot portions or bunches dropped into the water to find their own way.
• Shelf Pond plants for the shelf or ledge areas potted for you in 9cm or 11cm mesh baskets & aquatic soil.
• Each variety has a depth requirement and your shelf levels should be in the shell of your build. Most being Shelf options    13-15cm/5-6" & 15-22cm/6-9" depth .
• Waterlilies of various sizes of spread and depth are available from 10-30" (25-80cm), depth .
• Our list of the Best plants for a Small Pond can be found here.

Prepared Planting Schemes:

• If you have a new pond needing plants chosen for you - pick a Pond Planting Scheme.
• Choose the correct size Scheme for the surface area of your pond.
• We will send a pond planting starter kit that caters for all the different depth water areas for you.
• You can choose whether we pick 'British Native', 'Mainly British Native' plants or 'Any plant'.
• It will include deep water oxygenating plants, deeper surface cover plants (except Pond Planting Scheme 1) and marginal shelf plants.
• These will meet a combination of wildlife needs - rafting plants across the water surface for newts, frogs & toads. Emergent, upright plants for dragonflies & flowers across the season for insect pollinators.
• We also have a Pond Planting Scheme for a Swimming pond

Plant now:

We can send out by mail order most of the year because we send ready rooted pond plants. We only stop when the ice is on our troughs in the Nursery.

• Our plants are already in their mesh baskets & aquatic clay soil - ready to move to your pond now.
• They have been outside in our Nursery troughs in Leicestershire so are Winter hardy.
• They are rooted through the mesh basket already in correct clay soil.
• We have bareroot Ceratophyllum demersum  Oxygenating Plants as well as 9cm baskets of Myriophyllum rubricaule Red Stem available.
• There is no need to delay. If you plant now they will be in your local climate and able to grow on when they reach your pond.
• If you are still having cold or wet weather but would like to order now please tell us your preferred date of delivery in General Comments as you go through Checkout and that will supersede the automated date on your order confirmation.

For an established pond we also have small add-on planting schemes aimed at newts, dragonflies or bee/butterfly insect pollinators.

For more information see our Tips and Advice pages: How to plant a pond