Puddle Plants - What is a plug

What is a plug ?

A plug is a small plant which has been grown from seed or cuttings into a more mature plant ready to be planted out into its final planting position.

If planted in spring it will quickly grow to become a good sized plant within the same season.

This picture, which shows a typha latifolia, gives you an idea of the size plugs you would receive.

Planting Instructions

The young plants will maintain a good rate of growth and should reach a good size within the same season if planted in spring, or the next if planted in autumn.

Plants despatched in winter or early spring will show little or no growth, on the other extreme in late spring or summer the plants may have to have their foliage trimmed to post them to you.

We recommend you plant the young plants into either marginal baskets using a good aquatic soil, or directly into your pond if it is either a natural pond or you have used soil to create the marginal shelves. Please be sure to check the catalogue for planting depths to achieve the optimum planting conditions for your plants.

Planting Quantities

To plant in containers allow:-

• 1 plug per 9cm basket
• 2 plugs per 1 litre basket
• 3 plugs per 2 litre basket
• 5 plugs per 5 litre basket
• 10 plugs per contour basket

These figures only give a guideline, if you want a denser growth then you can add extra plants, however they will need to be thinned out sooner than if you follow the recommended rates.

To plant directly into soil in either a natural or man made pond then allow 16 plugs per square metre, these will soon grow and give a good coverage without the appearance of being too overcrowded.

It is better to plant less and allow the plants to spread than to over plant and then have to thin them out. It is generally recommended that an ornamental or man made wildlife pond is given a complete pond clean every 4-6 years. This is best done in autumn as the wildlife has time to re-establish itself before winter.

To plant in a marginal basket

Select the required size and fill with aquatic soil to within 5cms of the rim. Water the soil, either with a watering can or submerge the basket in a bucket of water, this removes any loose particles of soil which would make your pond water murky.

Push the plug plants gently into the wet soil until their roots are fully covered, then gently cover the soil around the plants with pea shingle or your chosen stone. This gives the plants some protection from disturbance by fish or wildlife.

It is best to use a prepared feed for water plants, e.g. Flora boost as this helps to reduce problems with algae. The plants should not need to be fed in the 1st season if new soil has been used.

Lower the basket into the pond at the required depth, the plants may be fully submerged for a few days until they have become established, this is quite acceptable. If, however, your shelf is deeper than the plants should be planted then raise the level of the baskets by means of bricks or stones.


Five plugs of Juncus effusus as sold	3 planted, 2 to go	Planting completed with a gravel dressing. Ready to go in the pond.	The same basket after about two months growth

To plant Deep Water Plants

Use a solid container to plant deep water plants. The same principle applies to Water lilies, Water Hawthorn and Golden Club.
Use the same procedure as for marginal plants but also cover the containers with netting keeping it in place with an elastic band, both of which have been provided with the plant collections. This prevents the plants from floating out of their containers until they have become established. It is perfectly acceptable to lower the deep water plants to their final position on initial planting.

Oxygentator Plants

Deep water oxygenator plants like Hornwort and elodea crispa can be submerged by either attaching weights, this could be stones or lead weights, to a group of approximately 6 strands of the plants and tossing them into the pond; or by anchoring them under marginal baskets until they become established.
Shallower marginal plants like Hydrocotyle vulgaris or Myriophyllum Brasilensis can be planted into marginal baskets and placed at the required depth, it may be necessary to place the basket on bricks or stones to get the required depth.

Floating plants

There is no work at all involved with floating plants, you literally toss them into the pond and they will carry on growing as nature intended! Do not be alarmed if they disappear in winter as they simply rest on the bottom of the pond until the time is right and will reappear next season, usually in increased numbers.

For natural or soil filled ponds

For natural ponds the plugs can be planted directly into the soil of the pond. It is still important to check that the plants are not planted deeper than their optimum planting depth. It is a good idea to check the lowest and highest level of the pond (the summer and winter levels). The plants will survive for short periods being too deep or too shallow but will soon die if these conditions continue indefinitely.

For manmade ponds which have been filled with soil or have soil margins the level of water will remain more constant but the water level may need topping up in hot weather. It may then be necessary to resort to blanket weed treatment especially if tap water is added. This can be resolved by adding barley straw at the beginning of the season, March or April, which will help to maintain the balance of the pond naturally.