Non Invasive Pond Plants: Best Aquatic Species for Healthy Water

When choosing plants for your backyard pond or water feature, it’s important to select non invasive varieties. Invasive pond plants can spread aggressively, crowding out other species and taking over your entire water garden if left unchecked. This leads to imbalanced ecosystems and extra maintenance work trying to control them.

Luckily, many beautiful native aquatic plants make excellent non invasive alternatives. These well-behaved options will enhance your pond without requiring constant pruning and division to keep them in check.

In this guide, we’ll highlight some of the best non invasive pond plants to consider for your water garden:

Benefits of Non Invasive Pond Plants

Choosing non invasive varieties offers multiple advantages:

• Prevent rampant, unchecked spread that chokes out other plants
• Avoid clogged waterways and reduced oxygen circulation
• Keep delicate pond ecosystems balanced naturally
• Minimize regular pruning and maintenance
• Foster a diverse community of aquatic plants
• Maintain pond aesthetics long-term

Invasive plants reproduce and spread aggressively through above-ground runners, underwater roots, and fragmentation. This quickly dominates native plants and impacts wildlife. It’s crucial to make informed choices when selecting pond plants.

Best Non Invasive Pond Plants

Here are some excellent native options that stay in bounds

Pickerelweed

A marginal plant growing in shallow zones up to 6 inches deep, pickerelweed has dense clusters of violet blooms on upright flower spikes. Its thick green leaves provide habitat for fish and frogs.

Blueflag Iris

A classic pond plant with sword-shaped leaves and gorgeous blue blooms. Blueflag thrives planted in containers in 6 inches of water. It spreads slowly, making it easy to control.

Cardinal Flower

Growing up to 4 feet tall, cardinal flower displays vibrant red blooms on spikes above lilypad-shaped leaves. It grows well in moist soil at the water’s edge.

Native Sedges and Rushes

These grass-like plants stabilize pond banks and provide wildlife habitat when planted in shallow areas. They spread primarily through underground rhizomes but are easy to contain.

Arrowhead

Also called duck potato, arrowhead has arrow-shaped leaves and white flowers. It tolerates variable water depths and spreads slowly through runners and offsets, making it easy to maintain.

Swamp Milkweed

A colorful marginal plant with purple and white flowers that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Swamp milkweed grows well in damp soil and is not aggressive.

American Lotus

With huge round leaves and yellow lotus flowers, the American lotus is hardy even in cold climates. It should be planted in containers to curtail spread. Tuber division easily controls growth.

Floating Heart

A small floater with delicate heart-shaped leaves and dainty white flowers. It grows in shallow areas and is easy to contain, making it a good frog habitat.

Creeping Jenny

This trailing plant with round leaves thrives planted in moist soil around pond edges or as an aquatic container plant. It spreads slowly through ground runners.

Parrot Feather

Parrot feather has feathery underwater foliage rising above water. It grows well contained in pots and is easy to prune back. The foliage provides shade and shelter for fish.

Invasive Pond Plants to Avoid

While beautiful, some popular pond plants should be avoided for their aggressive spreading habits:

• Yellow flag iris – This yellow-flowered iris quickly dominates by underground rhizomes and is considered a noxious weed. It crowds out other aquatic life and is difficult to eradicate.

• Water hyacinth – Water hyacinth is banned in some states due to its incredibly rapid spread that clogs waterways. Just a few plants can blanket a pond in one season.

• Water lettuce – A floating plant that spreads fast and blocks sunlight needed by native species below. It forms dense mats and is illegal in some states.

• Parrot feather – While the submerged foliage is attractive, emergent stems spread invasively through fragmentation. It can rapidly choke waterways.

• American burreed – Hardy and fast-spreading through aggressive rhizomes, American burreed crowds and displaces other native plants. It’s extremely difficult to control.

How to Control Invasive Pond Plants

If aggressive spreaders get out of control in your pond, here are some management tips:

• Physically remove invasives by hand pulling or raking out plants. Repeat regularly to control regrowth.

• Cut or mow dense stands of invasive pond plants to prevent them from going to seed and spreading further.

• Use shade and native plants to outcompete sun-loving invasives like water lettuce.

• In severe cases, apply aquatic herbicides like Diquat or Glyphosate sparingly to problem areas. Avoid harming desired plants.

• Drain ponds completely in winter to expose and freeze out plants like yellow flag iris.

Takeaways on Pond Plants

• Choose native, non aggressive varieties to avoid maintenance headaches and ecological harm from invasive spreaders.

• Research pond plants thoroughly before purchasing and planting in your water feature.

• Remove unwanted invasive plants early before they get well established and become much harder to control.

• Be a responsible pond owner and environmental steward by making your aquatic ecosystem resistant to invasion.

By selecting beautiful yet non invasive pond plants, you can craft a manageable, sustainable water garden to enjoy for years. Your efforts will benefit the pond ecosystem as a whole and create a naturally balanced aquatic environment.