How Many
Water Plants
Do I Need?
There are no "hard-set" rules for how many water plants you need, or should have in your pond or water feature. The following are guidelines that Russell Watergardens & Koi uses when creating Water Garden Ponds, Hybrid Ponds™, CrossOver™ Ponds, and ULTIMATE pondless water features.
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 20 square feet of pond water surface area.
For 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.
Again, these are simply "Rules of Thumb". More water plants can always be planted - and you're encouraged to do so. 
Remember, the more water plants you have, the less nutrients will be available for algae to feed upon and the prettier you pond or water feature will be.
