Here we answer frequently asked questions about pond plants:
Until when can they be planted?
Where do I get more information?
Answers:
Why Pond Plants?
They are not only pretty, but also important!
Plants change the water. They extract nutrients and are thus natural competitors of algae.
They are very effective in releasing oxygen into the water and make life possible for fish, frogs, dragonflies and newts. Their importance is often underestimated.
Plants give the pond an invaluable safety reserve. If you buy pond plants only for their looks, you make a mistake. Unfortunately, the prettiest often have the least effect. 
Which pond plants?
Most people buy what is pretty and has nice flowers. Often, however, the unimpressive plants are the most important.
Under water, milfoil and other specialist plants help keep a stable water quality. Bulrush and purple loosestrife on the shore or a water lily with its swimming leaves are, in comparison, 'just' decoration.
Their influence on water quality is relatively small. In the end it is the correct mix that gets the job done. Function and aesthetics; both have to be satisfied. The NaturaGart assortments are tried mixes.
When does planting start?
According to the gardeners' rule, April/May.
On the other hand, because many want to be quicker, pre-germinated plants are available as early as February.
We prefer to stay with the natural schedule. Exceptions, of course, are the classical early starters.
In assortments it is the latest plants that determine delivery dates. Especially late are frogbit and various pondweeds. Such 'problematic' plants are therefore only found in few assortments. In the worst of cases we can adapt the composition.
Assortment or single plants?
Pond plants are more sensitive than most land plants. Wrong water quality, wrong amount of fertiliser, wrong soil - there are many reasons why they can fail.
Therefore we normally recommend to choose one of our assortments.
There are plants that are good and even important for the pond after 2-3 years, but that have little chance of survival in the beginning. Other plants are needed to help the pond start up. Often they will disappear after a while. With an assortment, all this is taken into consideration.
What is the best spot?
Many planting recommendations don't make much sense. The plant's natural habitat may be in a depth range of 5 to 50cm, but great depths are valid for nutrient rich ponds. Only that way the plants have enough strength to reach the surface from great depths. In a good garden pond with few nutrients they die.
The NaturaGart plant assortments give you security. All plants are labelled and even pre-sorted!
Please let us know if you are ordering for several ponds, because then we package differently.
Wild or cultivated plants?
Himalayan giant cowslip or Canadian pickerelweed are just as winter proof as domestic plants, but bloom at different times.
It is also important to know that some domestic varieties (eg. pondweed) can be 'finicky' and are best substituted by other species. We therefore normally recommend a mixture:
The (usually inexpensive) domestic varieties cover the basic requirements while 'exotic' species and cultivated plants add to the pond's beauty.
Until when can they be planted?
Depends: Some plants have a summer break and can hence only be supplied in spring and autumn. The latest delivery date depends on the time that the plants need to adapt to the new water conditions and to prepare for the winter rest phase. For water lilies this is usually the end of August, most other plants can be supplied until the end of September.
How long does planting take?
In ponds of 15-30m² planting takes 2-3 hours. The quality of preparations is important. NaturaGart supplies the plants pre-sorted by planting areas. That saves at least 50% of your time. You just have to decide on where to put the higher and the lower plants. The packaging is numbered in the order they should be planted.
How many are needed?
As a rule of thumb, as start-up planting, plan for about 4 portions of plants per metre of shore. So if you have 15m of shore you need 15 x 4 = 60 portions. This calls for the assortment with 75 portions, because apart from the 60 shore plants it contains about 15 swimming and underwater plants.
Alternatively, choose pond plant assortment 50 + decorative pond assortment 20 + underwater assortment 5
Do I have to be pre-order?
Often we prepare special cultures for determined plants so that they stay in supply for longer. When these have been sold, we no longer supply them. Therefore, oder early, even if you request them at a later date. Your plants will be reserved. In autumn, when not everything is in stock anymore, we only invoice the partial shipment. The rest will come in the following year.
Do the plants live long?
Most are perennial, and the few exceptions are supplied as seed. Depending on the conditions in the pond, some plants will die over the years. However, no-one can tell which ones those will be. On the other hand, water analyses for precise predictions would cost much more than a few new plants. The assortments take this into account and reduce the risk of loss considerably.
Can I pick the plants up?
Yes, but we need some lead time for larger orders. Fridays are good or Saturday mornings in high season. This is optimal for those who pick the plans up themselves because they have time to plant over the weekend.
In May we have additional dates for picking up plants during the bank holidays. Please consult with administration when you would like to come.
Can I choose the plants?
Under normal circumstances our gardeners will help you decide on the plants for your order. Complete self-service is only possible for land perennials, woody plants and some pond plants.
Parts of the greenhouse are therefore not accessible to the public. Only in this way we can ensure that for example different types of water lilies aren't mistakenly mixed together.
Where do I get more information?
All plants are labelled and all planting areas are described.
All orders worth 40.00 Euros or more include a brochure about pond plants.