The Best Plants for Pond Edges

Pond edges provide the perfect environment for a variety of moisture-loving plants. With the right selection, these plants can add beauty while serving important functions like preventing erosion improving water quality and creating habitat. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the benefits of pond edge plants and provide recommendations for the top species to consider.

Why Add Plants to Pond Edges?

There are several key reasons you may want to add plants around the edges of your pond:

• Prevent erosion – Plant roots grip the soil, preventing sediment from entering the water. This helps maintain clarity.

• Improve water quality – Plants absorb nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, inhibiting algae growth. Some release oxygen.

• Enhance natural aesthetics – Flowers, foliage, and texture create an attractive border that blends the pond into its surroundings.

• Provide shelter and habitat – Stems, leaves, and flowers support insects eaten by fish. Frogs and birds use plants for cover and nesting.

• Shade and temperature control – Plants help regulate water temperature, preventing excess algae growth.

• Soak up excess water – Water-loving plants prevent unwanted flooding beyond the pond’s edge.

Proper plant selection allows you to maximize these benefits. Consider factors like climate, sun exposure, space, and your goals.

Best Overall Pond Edge Plants

If you’re looking for versatile plants that check all the boxes, these 5 are great choices:

1. Iris

• Grows in shallow water or boggy soil
• Showy flowers in spring/summer
• Provides habitat for wildlife
• Easy to grow and divide

Types: Yellow flag iris, blue flag iris, Japanese iris

2. Rushes

• Tolerate wet soil and shallow water
• Add texture and natural appeal
• Help control erosion
• Simple care

Types: Common rush, corkscrew rush, soft rush

3. Horsetail

• Shallow water or boggy areas
• Unique reed-like, bamboo-shaped stems
• Spreads readily to hold soil
• Low maintenance

4. Cattails

• Shallow water up to 12″ deep
• Provide shelter and nesting material
• Help filter water and prevent erosion
• Easy to grow and propagate

Types: Common cattail, dwarf cattail

5. Sweet Flag

• Shallow water or wet soil
• Sword-shaped leaves with sweet aroma
• Spreads by rhizomes to form colonies
• Tolerates partial shade

Best Flowering Pond Edge Plants

Add vibrant spring through fall color with these flowering favorites:

• Cardinal flower – Spikes of bright red flowers attract hummingbirds

• Golden creeping Jenny – Chartreuse foliage and yellow flowers cascade toward water

• Blue flag iris – Purple-blue blooms with yellow markings in early summer

• Pickerel weed – Dense blue flower spikes in mid-late summer, loved by pollinators

• Swamp milkweed – Fragrant pink flowers that attract butterflies and bees

• Swamp hibiscus – Huge red flowers provide nectar for pollinators

• Turtlehead – Unique hooded white flowers bloom late summer into fall

Best Plants for Erosion Control

Prevent erosion and stabilize pond banks with these anchoring plants:

• Sedges – Form dense clumps that spread to hold soil in place

• Rushes – Web of roots stabilizes soil at water’s edge

• Water Plantain – Fibrous roots stabilize edges and creek banks

• Horsetail – Root mass spreads readily to prevent erosion

• Switch grass – Deep roots and dense growth prevent bank erosion

• Iris – Tough, mounding rhizomes grip soil tightly

Best Low-Growing Pond Edge Plants

For pond edges where you want to maintain views, try these lower-profile options under 18” tall:

• Creeping Jenny – Trailing groundcover with round leaves

• Dwarf horsetail – Dense, mounding grass-like plant

• Dwarf cattail – Mini cattail perfect for small ponds

• Miniature iris – Compact irises under a foot tall

• Moss – Soft green carpeting for shady edges

• Ajuga – Ground hugging perennial with blue flower spikes

Best Shade-Loving Pond Edge Plants

If your pond edge has partial to full shade, some good choices include:

• Astilbe – Feathery plumes in white, pink or red

• Turtlehead – Unique hooded white flowers

• Golden creeping Jenny – Chartreuse cascading foliage

• Cardinal flower – Brilliant red flowers on tall spikes

• Sweetflag – Clump-forming plant with sweet fragrance

• Wild ginger – Groundcover with maroon-red flowers

Best Trees for Pond Edges

The right trees can provide shade without shedding excess leaves. Good choices include:

• Willow – Weeping varieties add graceful drooping branches

• Bald cypress – Soft feathery foliage and interesting knobby knees

• Red maple – Brilliant fall color and dense canopy

• River birch – Peeling cinnamon bark and vibrant yellow fall leaves

• Dogwood – Modest size and showy spring blooms

• Avoid maple, oak, sweetgum, sycamore and other heavy leaf-shedders.

Planting Tips

• Choose plants suited to your zone and site conditions. Consider moisture needs, sunlight, and climate.

• Space plants 12-24” apart depending on mature size. Dense plantings prevent weeds.

• Plant atop moist soil or in up to 6″ of water depending on variety.

• Allow 2-3’ between plants and water for intermediate access.

• Mulch with compost or gravel to suppress weeds and retain moisture.

• Water regularly until established. Mature plants typically need little watering except in drought.

• Cut back any damaged foliage in spring. Divide clumps every 3-5 years to rejuvenate.

Transform Your Pond Edge

Adding the right plants can completely transform your pond from a muddy eyesore to a welcoming habitat and stunning focal point. Pay attention to sunlight, moisture, invasiveness, and maintenance needs when selecting species. Combining flowering perennials, grasses, groundcovers and shrubs results in a naturalized edge that evolves throughout the seasons. With a bit of care, your pond edge planting will thrive for years of beauty.