Wildlife pond questions.

Robmarston

Hi, I’ve just built a small wildlife pond in the garden. It’s just under 2m square. I went out to buy some plants and oxygenators for it. I got a little water lily and something called Myriophyllum Red stem aka parrots feather.  My first question is about the water lily. Should I pot it up before putting it in the pond, or just leave it in the pot it came in? My next question is about the myriophyllum.  I’ve been reading a lot online saying it is banned, invasive and shouldn’t be used. If it is banned, how come I was able to easily buy it from a large aquatics chain? Should I go ahead and put it in my pond or chuck it out? Any clarification on this would be helpful - I’ve built a pond to help the environment, not cause problems. 

Ladybird4

I associate Myriophyllum red with tropical aquariums. It would not be hardy in a garden pond in the UK.

If the water lily is in an aquatic pot you could just sink it into the pond.

Ceres

If you are worried about using plants that are not native and which might be invasive, Puddle Plants has a section of UK native plants to chose from. https://www.puddleplants.co.uk/uk-native-plants/

Robmarston

Thanks Ladybird. The guy in the shop sold it to me as a pond oxygenator! 

madpenguin

The Myriophyllum brasiliensis (Red Stemmed Parrot Feather) is OK for your pond and it is frost hardy and non-invasive.
So you should be OK!
The banned one is Myriophyllum proserpinacoides.

Robmarston

Thanks for all the good tips. Looked at puddle plants but the ones I like aren’t in stock! I’ll go with the parrots feather for now and in the autumn look in their website.