The Best Plants for Ponds in Oklahoma
- Many aquatic plants grow well in Oklahoma's warm climate.Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
Pond vegetation is needed in small ponds for a variety of reasons. Microscopic pond plants provide oxygen to the pond's ecosystem through photosynthesis. Larger pond plants serve as habitat area for the pond's resident insects and small animals. Also, pond plants also provide good cover for fish that reside within the pond. Many plants grow well in ponds in Oklahoma and are relatively easy to maintain. Some of these plants are floating leaf plants, which can seen above the water, while others are submerged. - Water lily leaves provide cover for fish and frogs.water lily image by Darren Nickerson from Fotolia.com
Water lilies are among the most recognizable of pond plants. They have large, floating green leaves that often serve as resting spots for small pond animals such as frogs. They are known for their large flowers that appear at the base of the floating leaves and are most often white or yellow in color. Water lilies come in several varieties including the banana lily, the spatterdock, the white water lily and the yellow water lily. Spatterdock has a much smaller flower than the more common white and yellow water lilies. Flowers of all species can float on the water or grow above its surface. - Duckweed has small, green leaves that provide excellent shade for aquatic animalsduckweed image by Oleg Tarasov from Fotolia.com
Duckweed is a common pond plant in many parts of the United States. Its leaves are much smaller than the water lily's, but the coloring is similar. Duckweed is beneficial to a pond because it provides cover and nutrition for the fish, animals, and insects that live in and near the pond as well as visual appeal. Frogs and fish alike often use duckweed for its shade on hot, summer days. Though duckweed appears like one, massive floating plant with many leaves, it is actually hundreds of small plants that grow near one another, interlocking leaves as the plants grow. - Cattails are known for their long, slender brown flowers.cattails image by Tanya McConnell from Fotolia.com
Cattails are common and easily recognizable pond plants. A cattail is an emergent plant, meaning that it grows above the surface of the water. Cattails have tall. rounded leaves and their tell-tale flowers are long, hot-dog shaped tubes that grow at the end of a long, green stalk. These flowers have spikes on the end called catkin. Cattails spread quickly because the wind carries their seeds to other parts of the pond. - Bulrushes have tall, grass-like leaves and grow in large clusters.young bulrush image by Leonid Nyshko from Fotolia.com
The bulrush, or sturdy bulrush, is an aquatic plant that is a member of the sedge family. It is also referred to as three-corned rush and leafy three-cornered sedge. Like cattails, bulrushes are tall pond plants and can grow up to three and a half feet in height. Bulrush leaves are green, slender, and grass-like in appearance. The flowers are spiky in appearance, covered by brownish scales and usually bloom between the months of April and August. Bulrushes are a good source of food for muskrats, geese and ducks.
