Frogbit or Water Soldier? Floating plant help needed.

Hi everyone,

I've got a smallish pond about 6x4 feet which I would like to encourage wildlife into but the pond planting doesn't look great. I've got a marsh marigold, a small water-lilly and some oxygenating plants but, apart from duckweed, no floating plants. I can't make my mind up whether to go for Frogbit or Water-Soldier (or both!). If anyone could advise me I'd be really grateful.

I'm also thinking about getting Water-Forget-Me-Not and any thoughts on that plant would also be welcome.

My main concerns for Frogbit,Water-Soldier Water-Forget-Me-Not are:

Is it invasive? Is it good for wildlife? Will it suit a smallish pond.

Thanks.

 

Thanks, I think I'll try all three now.

 

I think you'd be fine with all three of those species. If you want to encourage wildlife, one important point is that it's particularly important to have plants with lots of underwater structure for small animals to live/hide in. Water Lilies aren't so good in this respect since they have floating leaves but not much underneath, plus they can shade out more useful plants below. In moderation that's fine, of course, just watch it doesn't take over too much (hopefully not if it's one of the less vigorous varieties).

 

I can`t say about the other two as I don`t have a pond, but I do have a 2m long aquarium and the Frogbit will devour any excess nitrates and help keep the algae down. Doesn`t need a huge amount of light to thrive. That is Amazon Frogbit I`m on about though but I guess they`ll work on the same principle.