Silk
pond plants can look beautiful in your pond and provide
added benefits: they reduce the possibility of algae bloom and can
provide hiding places for fish. Fish can hide beneath silk pond plants
and stay out of sight from birds of prey and other animals –
if you cannot grow lilies or other plants naturally (because of too
much shade, etc.) silk pond plants are an excellent alternative.
Here are some tips for if your silk pond plants:
• Use both silk pond plants and real plants. If you mix them
in with real plants, they are more likely to be mistaken as real,
themselves. Also, aquatic plants provide food and oxygen and keep
the water clear. Silk plants, while often pretty, cannot do these
things.
• Make sure that your silk pond plants are protected against
koi. You do not want your fish nibbling on the foam floats or other
parts of the plants.
• Get a mix of floating, submergent, and emergent silk pond
plants for variety.
• Get silk plants that require very little maintenance –
they should not need more than a rinse every once in a while.
• Realize that silk pond plants are not likely made of silk
– they are more likely made of polyester and other materials
(silk would not last long in a pond!)
Place your silk pond plants wherever you want. And do not forget
to take them in for winter if you live in a temperate climate.