Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Adding Plant Life to New Pond

Any suggestions on where to purchase or transplant Aquatic Plants from?

My new pond, which I have added habitat structures etc, first started filling with runoff water in April but has no aquatic plant life available.

Will plant life develop on its own? or should I add? Can I get some plants from a local river pond or stream as an option?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

You will get plant life naturally often relatively quickly. First phytoplankton, then filamentous algae which often includes Chara or Nitella although these two look like bristly submerged plants. All above plants come in with water and form old soil and wind-blown spores. Stream water, waterfowl and watershed drainage can bring all the above into the pond. Next rooted submerged vegetation arrives via primarily waterfowl manure and fish hatchery and or delivery water - as seeds and plant fragments. Most everything that nature delivers as early growing higher plants are common, early, fast / rapid colonizers and usually end up being nuisance species. To have some natural competition against the nuisance species, IMO it is best to introduce selected, better, and slower growing beneficial plants as shallow shoreline plants and submerged species. Past threads discuss many of these common aquatic species. Species will vary somewhat based on region of the country, endemic species, and plant growing zones.

A search through the Section of Balance of Plants in the Environment will provides many of the previous threads about beneficial plants. There should be a thread in Common Pond Q&A (Archives) about beneficial pond plants. Maybe soon?
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=15&page=1

Plant discussions;
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=212891#Post212891

What to look for?
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=168238#Post168238

Thanks for the reply.

I had tried searching the forum but due to plants being mentioned in so many posts I found myself lost in my search.

I think to start with I will just add some type of Ell Grass.

Sources for aquatic plant life on the pond scale are few and far between.

If you are going to add eel grass and you are in GA first use spiral or corkscrew eel grass. It grows to a shorter mature height 6"-12" and gets better growth faster in more southern waters. If you don't like the results of this shorter variety then use the standard eel grass which grows 3- 4ft-6ft tall.

An FYI, I planted the tall variety of eel grass in my pond, but it grows short in my highly alkaline pond. So it's growth style will vary depending on water chemistry. Up North, my eel grass didn't start growing with vigor until August.