Jesica Conrad
Beltrami County Master Gardener
There is a lot to consider in having a pond. There are location,
size, waterfalls, water fountains, landscaping, liability, fish, care
and maintenance, not to mention plants, native or not. Tune into the
right thing to do with native plants. Ask your local greenhouse/
nursery to stock Minnesota native plants. One may obtain a permit
from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to harvest native
aquatic plants and place them in your own water pond. I know it
seems unnecessary; however, my contact at the DNR wants to be sure
folks are not digging up and selling. Protection of our natural
resources is very important.
provides information about native aquatic plants for your backyard
pond and those that are invasive and should never be in your pond.
Aquatic plants are regulated by the Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources. Some cautionary instructions are:
1. Never transplant nonnative plants into lakes, streams, wetlands or
storm water ponds.
2. Check your plant orders for unwanted, and potentially invasive,
hitchhikers
(seeds, plant fragments, snails, insects, or fish).
3. Be aware of the regulations regarding possession, transport or
sale of nonnative plants and animals.
4. Learn how invasive plants spread - by seed, rhizome, or even tiny
plant fragments.
5. Recognize which plants and fish are potentially invasive in our
climate zone.
6. Properly compost or dispose of unwanted plants or fish.
Three popular and easily accessible native pond plants include the
following:
1. Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris). a member of the Buttercup
(Ranunculaceae) family. lives in swamps, stream edges and wet
ditches. It flowers from April to June and is a native perennial
plant. I love Marsh Marigolds as I perceive them to be a happy plant
blooming early when we are all looking for a sign of spring.
2. Blue Flag (Iris Virginica) is a perennial plant found in shallow
water along shorelines and in wet areas. Stems grow in clusters from
the base, usually single or double-branched, and can be from less
than a foot tall to over 3 feet. Leaves are sword-like or blade-like.
Flowers are on an elongated stem that usually rises above the leaves.
Six-petaled iris-like flowers can be bluish-purple to violet in blue
flag to white, yellow, or copper-colored in other iris species.
Flowers are fragrant. Irises have shallow roots and spread from the
roots.
3. What pond would be complete without a water lily? The white water
lily (Nymphaeca adorata) is native to Minnesota according to the DNR
website mentioned. Growing rooted in mucky or silty bottoms up to 5
feet deep, it provides excellent habitat for largemouth bass and
sunfish. Flowering in morning, it usually closes by afternoon. The
white flower has rows of petals surrounding a yellow center. The
lily's thick tubers make hand-pulling or cutting difficult. Submerged
portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and
macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by
fish and other wildlife species.
The following are resources to get you started in planning your
backyard pond.
I certainly am enjoying mine.
