How Many Water Plants Can I Have in my Pond?

Pond and Water Plant Guidelines

How many water plants can I have?

"How many water plants can I have?" is a very common question.  There are no hard set rules - but we've built a lot of ponds and streams over the years and these are the guidelines we have created for the nicest look.



How many plants can I have in my pond?


For Ponds:

  • At least one marginal aquatic plant for every 5' of pond edge
  • At least one bog plant for every 5' of pond edge in addition to the marginal plants
  • At least one water lily for every 50 square feet of pond water area with depths of 2' or less
  • At least one submerged oxygenators (in Water Garden Ponds only) for every 100 square feet of pond water area
  • At least one floating plant (Hyacinth, etc) per every 10 square feet of pond water surface area

How many plants can I have in my waterfalls and streams?

For Waterfalls and Streams:

  • At least one marginal aquatic plant for every 5' of stream edge
  • At least one bog plant for every 5' of stream edge in addition to the marginal plants
How many water plants can I have?

Again, these are simply "Rules of Thumb". More or less water plants can always be planted to suit your taste.  You're encouraged to experiment. 


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