21 Water Friendly Plants For Indoor And Outdoor Ponds

Plants

                                Are you looking for some plants that can grow in an indoor or outdoor pond? Finding the right types of floating plants for pond gardens can be a bit of a challenge! Luckily, there are many different options you can choose from. In this article, we take a look at our favorite plants that can thrive in outdoor or indoor ponds!                                


                            By Jason White 
                                Last updated: October 10, 2022                                    |
                                10 min read

There are a number of plants that thrive in water or around the edges of ponds and waterways. Not only do they add color to your pond, but they also serve a critical purpose to the ecology and aquatic life. Water grown plants help to regulate water temperatures, filter the water and reduce algae, and offer shelter and food to animals, insects, and birds while providing a picturesque landscape to your indoor or outdoor garden space.

There are different types of water plants suitable for ponds that help to provide a natural setting to your garden area, including:

Submersible water plants: plants that live fully submerged in water.Floating water plants: plants that live on top of the waterways.Marginal: plants that live around the edges of the pond.

Besides promoting ecology to your pond, water friendly plants are pleasing to look at and provide a relaxed setting to sit and enjoy the view of your indoor or outdoor pond. Here is a list of our favorite plants for indoor and outdoor ponds that are sure to add ambiance to any garden!

African Water Fern Plant

Plant Type: Submerged Water PlantGeographic Origin: AfricaPlant Size: 6 to 15 inchesSun Exposure: ShadePlant Zone: 9 to 11

This dark green submersible water plant thrives in shady locations and is perfect for oxygenating your pond. A robust perennial, the African Water Fern is a hardy plant that pops up yearly and offers protection and shelter to fish and aquatic life.

The African Water Fern has strong roots that can attach to floating wood or rocks and is easy to grow indoors or outdoors in fresh waterways and ponds. This plant does not grow well in salt water. The African Water Fern thrives in temperatures between 68 and 80 degrees and is an easy-to-care-for plant to spruce up your pond year after year.

Plant Type: Floating Water PlantGeographic Origin: Central and South AmericaPlant Size: 6 to 20 inchesSun Exposure: Prefer shadePlant Zone: 4 to 10

This beautiful floating aquatic plant boasts heart-shaped greenery and tiny white summer-blooming flowers. They add color to your garden space and offer shade to fish and protection from predators. The roots of this floating plant also add filtration to the pond area.

Plant Type: Submerged Water PlantGeographic Origin: Central and South AmericaPlant Size: 12 to 23 inchesSun Exposure: Mixed sun and shadePlant Zone: 4 to 10

This fast-growing plant prefers temperatures between 72° and 82°F and can easily tolerate hard or soft water. The lime green plant is best-suited for backgrounds because of its thick green leafy foliage and deep roots. It can thrive indoors or out and is a fabulous addition to any pond, aquarium, or garden area.

American Waterweed

Plant Type: Submersible Water PlantGeographic Origin: North AmericaPlant Size: 0.25 feetSun Exposure: Full sunPlant Zone: 4 to 10

This popular plant is a favorite among many pond owners and aquarium lovers for its easy maintenance and rapid growth. The American Waterweed thrives in full sun and cold waterways. It is ideal for ponds or aquariums for its beautiful coverage and helps to oxygenate and clean the waters.

This gorgeous plant offers dark green foliage and tiny light green flowers that bloom from mid-July to fall. Buds from the plant drop to the bottom of the water in the fall and produce new plants come spring.

Cattail

Plant Type: Submersible Water PlantGeographic Origin: Northern and Southern HemispheresPlant Size: 4 to 6 feetSun Exposure: Full sun or partial shadePlant Zone: 3 to 10

This tall brown marsh plant provides the ideal backdrop for outdoor ponds. These brown, sausage-like cattails are not only pleasant to view. But, they also offer several benefits to wildlife, such as a food source, shelter, protection, and shade.

Cattails also make gorgeous indoor flower arrangements, while their long leaves are perfect for rug-making and woven chair seats. These wholesome perennials come back to your pond every year and make an attractive addition to your outdoor oasis.

Creeping Jenny

Plant Type: MarginalGeographic Origin: Western Asia and EuropePlant Size: 2 to 4 inchesSun Exposure: Full sunPlant Zone: 4 to 9

This easy-to-grow plant makes an ideal flowering ground cover for an outdoor pond. Creeping Jenny offers bright summer foliage that adds vibrancy and color. This perennial will return yearly and thrives best in wet soil.

The robust plant spreads quickly and is considered an invasive species in some areas. So, before purchasing Creeping Jenny for your pond, check if you can plant it in your area. Keep it well-trimmed to prevent it from taking over the rest of any ground cover around your pond.

Duckweed

Plant Type: Floating Water PlantGeographic Origin: North AmericaPlant Size: 0.3 inchesSun Exposure: SunPlant Zone: 4 to 10

This floating plant is one of the tiniest aquatic plants that produces small edible flowers ducks love to gobble up. Duckweed is also suitable for indoor aquariums. However, it is crucial to observe this quick-spreading plant because it can sometimes cover the entire pond or aquarium, causing a lack of oxygen to fish and aquatic life below.

Because this plant is so invasive, pruning often is critical. Placing Duckweed in shady areas or under larger plants can also help to slow down its growth. Duckweed can also be pulled and used as livestock feed for chickens, cattle, ducks, and pigs.

Eelgrass

Plant Type: Submersible Water PlantGeographic Origin: East AsiaPlant Size: 4 feetSun Exposure: Prefer shadePlant Zone: 4 to 10

This lush plant features long leaves perfect for pond backdrops and shelter to waterfowl, such as ducks and geese. The deep-rooted leaves provide shelter for fish and aquatic life.

Eelgrass offers small white flowers that float along the water surface, adding color to your pond or larger indoor aquariums. However, they can become out of control and may take over your pond and aquarium if not trimmed often.

Fanwort

Plant Type: Submersible Water PlantGeographic Origin: Southern United StatesPlant Size: 3 to 10 feetSun Exposure: Sun and Partial ShadePlant Zone: 4 to 10

This freshwater submersible plant features large floating green leaves with tiny white flowers to add color to your backyard pond. Fanwort offers several other features to your pond, including oxygenating and purifying waterways and providing shelter for fish and aquatic life.

Fanwort water plants bloom from May until September and come in several variations ranging from pink to purple flowers. Best suited for outdoor ponds because of their long stems, Fanwort makes an excellent addition to your backyard.

Hornwort

Plant Type: Submersible Water PlantGeographic Origin: Central and South AmericaPlant Size: 120 inchesSun Exposure: Sun with partial shadePlant Zone: 3 to 10

This submersible plant is ideal for indoor and outdoor ponds and features thin green leaves. Hornwort also oxygenates the water and reduces algae.

They are easy to grow and spread quickly, so they need regular trimming to prevent overgrowth within your pond or aquarium. This lime green aquatic plant makes a great addition to your waterways.

Lotus

Plant Type: Floating water plantGeographic Origin: India and AsiaPlant Size: 6 to 20 inchesSun Exposure: Full sunPlant Zone: 5 to 10

This exotic water-friendly flowering plant features large floating green leaves and brightly-colored pink blossoms. The fragrant flowers and leaves are attached to long stems and float in water. Lotus plants make a beautiful addition to your outdoor pond and offer ornamental views with leaves up to 2 feet wide.

A perennial plant, the Lotus thrives with sunlight and needs dirt at the bottom to establish its roots. Because of its large size, this exotic plant is best suited for outdoor use and offers breathtaking water views.

Mosaic Flower

Plant Type: Floating Water PlantGeographic Origin: Central and South AmericaPlant Size: 2 to 3 inchesSun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadePlant Zone: 6 to 11

This emergent plant features attractive red buds with green diamond-shaped foliage. The eye-catching flowers float along the surface of the water. At night, the flowers close and re-open in the daylight to bright cup-shaped yellow flowers.

Mosaic flowers are suitable for outdoor ponds and indoor aquariums and offer color to your waterways. Just be sure to trim them back so they don’t entirely cover the surface of the water, leaving creatures and other plants below without access to sunlight.

Mosquito Fern

Plant Type: Floating water plantGeographic Origin: Western USA and CanadaPlant Size: 2 to 3 inchesSun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadePlant Zone: 7 to 11

This small free-floating water fern is a popular choice of aquatic plant for outdoor ponds or indoor aquariums. It features tiny two-lobed bright-green leaves with a hint of purple when the sun shines on them.

Planting Mosquito Ferns in your pond offers many benefits, including reducing algae growth, discouraging mosquitoes from laying eggs on the waterways, and helping to clean the water. This fast-growing fern needs frequent trimming to prevent covering the entire water surface and affecting the survival of aquatic life below.

Rain Lily

Plant Type: Marginal Water PlantGeographic Origin: South AmericaPlant Size: 6 to 12 inchesSun Exposure: Full sunPlant Zone: 7 to 11

Rain lilies are the perfect plant to add to the edge of your outdoor pond, offering a variety of colors to your backyard from white, pink apricot, and lavender blooms. These gorgeous flowers bloom from spring to the end of summer, especially after rainfall when they open widely to display their colors.

Depending on the zone, some gardeners leave their rain lilies in the ground over winter. Meanwhile, others dig up the bulbs and replant them in early spring.

Rough Horsetail

Plant Type: Submersible Water PlantGeographic Origin: North America and EuropePlant Size: 2 to 5 feetSun Exposure: Full sun and partial shadePlant Zone: 4 to 9

This submersible plant grows well in moist conditions and thrives in ponds and standing outdoor waterways. It is ideal for swampy areas where other plants do not do well and offers a vertical backdrop to your outdoor garden space.

To help control overgrowth, plant Horsetail in a submersible container to reduce its spread. Despite the name, this plant is also toxic to livestock, including cattle and horses.

Umbrella Palm

Plant Type: Submersible Water PlantGeographic Origin: Taiwan, Australia, HainanPlant Size: 2 to 6 feetSun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadePlant Zone: 1 to 8

Another popular plant for your outdoor pond is the Umbrella Palm. This impressive plant makes an ideal backdrop that grows up to 6 feet high and offers breathtaking displays of tropical-looking foliage.

Because this hardy plant can grow and spread quickly, plant it in a submersible container to decrease its spread. The Umbrella Palm makes a charming addition to any backyard pond or garden.

Water Forget-Me-Not

Plant Type: Marginal Water PlantGeographic Origin: United KingdomPlant Size: 6 to 12 inchesSun Exposure: Full sun or partial shadePlant Zone: 5 to 9

These pretty flowers come in shades of blue or pink and grow well in rocky water and borders around outdoor ponds. They add vibrant shades of color to the edges of your pond and can also be grown indoors in sunny locations.

These fragrant flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds with their sweet nectar to outdoor ponds. Blooming from mid-spring to early fall, the Water Forget-Me-Not is an excellent addition to your waterways.

Water Hyacinth

Plant Type: Floating Water PlantGeographic Origin: Central and South AmericaPlant Size: 6 inchesSun Exposure: Partial sunPlant Zone: 8 to 11

These plants are easy-to-grow in still water, such as in outdoor ponds and aquariums. For outdoor ponds, plant Water Hyacinths in early spring by scattering them on the water surface after the last sign of frost.

These fast-spreading plants thrive in sunny conditions offering purple blooms with blueish-green summer foliage. Water Hyacinth makes an attractive addition to your indoor gardens in sunny locations. Trim them often to prevent rapid spreading.

Water Iris

Plant Type: Submersible Water PlantGeographic Origin: EuropePlant Size: 1.5 to 2 feetSun Exposure: Full sun or partial shadePlant Zone: 5 to 9

There are a number of types of iris that can grow in wet soil. However, there is only one true Water Iris that performs very well in swamps, bogs, or at the edges of ponds.

Featuring long pointed stems and purple or yellow blooms, the Water Iris makes a brilliant addition to outdoor ponds. This showy plant adds color to the edges of your pond and thrives partly submerged in the water. However, the Water Iris is toxic to pets.

Water Lily

Plant Type: Floating Water PlantGeographic Origin: Central and South AmericaPlant Size: 2 inches to 1 footSun Exposure: Sun or partial shadePlant Zone: 3 to 11

This beautiful summer-blooming plant features attractive white, purple, or pink floating flowers with yellow centers and large, round green leaves. The long, submerged stems and parts of the plant provide habitats for many aquatic creatures.

Water Lilies are not only attractive and spruce up your outdoor pond. They also aid in the ecosystem of your waterways by providing shade and shelter to marine life, preventing algae, and keeping the pond cleaner.

Water Poppy

Plant Type: Floating Water PlantGeographic Origin: Central and South AmericaPlant Size: 6 to 16 inchesSun Exposure: Full or partial shadePlant Zone: 9 to 11

The perfect addition to your fishpond, the Water Poppy features floating blooms in shades of yellow, helps to clean the water, and provides oxygen to aquatic life. Water Poppies also provide shade for fish below and are an ideal choice of plant for your outdoor ponds or indoor aquariums.

This plant produces thick, shiny leaves that grow to be 2 to 4 inches long. It is a fast-growing plant that needs to be watched so that it doesn’t block sunlight from reaching the bottom of the pond.

Final Thoughts

With so many unique and colorful water-friendly plants, we hope you have fun sprucing up your waterways with our list of our favorite plants for indoor and outdoor ponds. Each once has its own unique beauty and is a crowned jewel that can be enjoyed in any pond or water feature.

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African Water Fern Plant#

American Waterweed#

Cattail#

Creeping Jenny#

Duckweed#

Eelgrass#

Fanwort#

Hornwort#

Lotus#

Mosaic Flower#

Mosquito Fern#

Rain Lily#

Rough Horsetail#

Umbrella Palm#

Water Forget-Me-Not#

Water Hyacinth#

Water Iris#

Water Lily#

Water Poppy#

Final Thoughts#

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