Oxygenating Pond Plants

Oxygenating Pond PlantsOxygenating plants are essential for your pond's ecosystem. Not only will they help keep the water healthy, but they also provide shelter, shade and cover for all sorts of wildlife, including amphibians and invertebrates. Oxygenators are notoriously difficult to grow and transport, for which reason we only ship them from spring to October. We typically send them out once a week, and use Royal Mail First class. We sell Hornwort in 5 bunches of 5

Oxygenating plants are essential for your pond's ecosystem. Not only will they help keep the water healthy, but they also provide shelter, shade and cover for all sorts of wildlife, including amphibians and invertebrates.

Oxygenators are notoriously difficult to grow and transport, for which reason we only ship them from spring to October. We typically send them out once a week, and use Royal Mail First class. We sell Hornwort in 5 bunches of 5 strands, clipped together with a metal clip so that you can just chuck them into the water.

We also offer Water starwort in bunches; it floats naturally, so no clips required. Please do the chucking as soon as you can after they arrive! Hornwort (see above) is naturally a floater, so you can take its clips off if you like.

Very roughly, we recommend two bunches per square metre of pond.

We offer two species - Hornwort and Water starwort - both native and with a naturally widespread distribution across the UK. If you don't end up buying through us, all we'd ask is that you don't buy non-native plants for your pond. They might take over but, more importantly, you can't make a failsafe biological exclusion zone to stop them getting out into the wider environment. Chances are they'll be less helpful to the wildlife too.

Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum): Hornwort is one of those plants which seems to be almost universal - it grows everywhere. Wikipedia says it's native to all continents except Antarctica; in the U.S. Hornwort is known as coontail - the sort of thing you'd expect to see Davy Crockett wearing. It grows in shade or full sun, in still or gently running water. It's completely submerged and likes depths over 30cm. At the start of the season, or harvested from deeper water, it will appear brittle and black. Don't worry! It will come into growth soon enough. 

Water Starwort (Callitriche stagnalis): Water starwort is a different cup of tea, but an equally helpful oxygenator. There are apparently 50 different types of Water starworts across the world, but stagnalis is a widespread UK native. It has pretty leaves, which are more starlike underwater, and teeny tiny white flowers. It's very adaptable, enjoying semi-shade, and forms rafts across the water surface.  Helpful for protecting wildlife, particularly tadpoles, early in the season. Start off lobbing/placing bunches into relatively shallow water, around 20cm. Like Hornwort, though, it will establish in deeper water.  

Supplier : Southwest Aquatics