WATER PLANTS
With good weather, Sky carries a wide selection of water plants from early May through summertime. Adding plants to the water features in your home helps prevent the build-up of algae, creates habitat for wildlife, and makes everything just that much more beautiful.
Marginals
These plants thrive in shallow water or moist soil along the edge of a pond or water feature, and can tolerate being partially submerged.
Use them to frame a water feature and to soften the transition between land and water. Keep in mind that most prefer full - part sun. Though mostly ornamental, they can also help keep water in your pond clearer.
MARGINALS WE OFTEN RECEIVE
(Stock changes daily, Call to confirm availability)
Canna Lilies, Calla Lilies, Cattail, Colocasia, Gunnera, Grasses, Horsetail, Iris, Papyrus, Rushes, Sagittaria, Watercress, Water Mint, Yellow Monkey Flower, and more.
CHECK OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS
Many of the plants in this category are also carried in our Annuals, Perennials and Groundcover Departments. For use in ponds, be sure to replace their potting soil with a pond medium or clay soil before setting in water.
Caltha polypetala
Giant Marsh Marigold
Equisetum hymale
Horsetail
Canna ‘Orange Punch’
Orange Punch Canna
Gunnera manicata
Giant Rhubarb
Water Lilies & Deep Water Plants
These plants root on the bottom of the pond and send long stems and leaves up to float on the surface. They provide shade and hiding places for fish. Water lilies are perhaps the most well known example, beloved for their flowers and lily pads. Most will flower best in at least six hours of daily sun. They can also be grown in containers for easy maintenance.
DEEP WATER PLANTS WE OFTEN RECEIVE
(Stock changes daily, Call to confirm availability)
Lilypons, Water Hawthorn, Water Snowflake, etc.
WATER LILY WE OFTEN RECEIVE
Froebeli, Gregg’s Orange Beauty, Miss Siam, Multi Double Pink Hardy, Myra, Perry’s Double Yellow, Siam Jasmine, Virginalis
Aponogeton distachyos
Water Hawthorn
Nymphaea virginalis
Virginalis Water Lily
Nuphar lutea
Japanese Pond Lily
Numphoides cristata
Water Snowflake
Floating Water Plants
These plants float freely on the surface, without rooting in the pond. Some, like water hyacinth, are valued for their flowers, but all will provide cover for fish and help reduce algae in the pond by competing for nutrients and shading out natural light. All of the floating plants at Sky are annuals, and will not overwinter in the Pacific Northwest climate. They can be removed and composted in autumn.
Sky carries Water Hyacinth and Water Lettuce.
Pond Supplies
Whether it's a pump, flexible liner, sustainable pest control or algae destroyers, we've got the specialty supplies to make your dreams, large or small, a reality. We even have LED lights and koi food!
POND LINER
45 ml EPDM synthetic rubber pond liner.
5 foot, 10 foot, and 15 foot rolls. Sold by the linear foot.
FILTER MEDIA
28 inch wide polyester filter media. 1 inch or 2inch thick, sold by the linear foot.
Our selection is always changing, with fresh shipments of water plants arriving every other week from spring to summer. Please give us a call to check on availability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plants can be placed in the soil at the bottom of your pond set in, left in the container they came in.
When transplanting, use a soil specifically made for pond plants or a gravel or clay medium, to keep from floating out of the pot and mucking up your pond.
Containers with smaller holes or none at all work well for deep water plants like lilies, and open mesh containers work best for marginals. If you have fish, remember to place rock in submerged pots to keep fish from disturbing the soil.
The best answer on this will be to check the plant signs, labels or even online resources for the specific depth required by your plant. Stones or bricks can be used to raise the pot to the correct water level.
It's very likely you will not need to! Yay! Less work for you. Most plants in your pond will pull all the nutrients they need directly out of the water. Water lilies and lotus may benefit from some added fertilizer to produce more big, beautiful blooms. Special fertilizer tabs can be pressed into the soil of the pot monthly, from May to September.
All of the pond plants sold at Sky will be labeled "annual" or "perennial"; those labeled perennial are generally hardy in our climate and will live through the winter, as long as the water is kept circulating. Some plants, like water hawthorn, offer amazing winter interest with unique white blooms in the cooler months.
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