As we approach pond season we want to remind shops about advice we gave out last year about certain aquatic plants.
We are concerned that retailers may be turning to aquarium plants, such as Egeria densa (which can sometimes be sold under the incorrect name Elodea densa), as an alternative to Lagarosiphon. Aquarium plants should never be sold for use in ponds because of their potential to become invasive. These plants should only be sold for aquariums.
“This is another example of where the industry can act responsibly by not selling tropical plants for ponds. Egeria densa for example is not suitable for use in garden ponds because it tolerates cooler water too readily and it should only be sold for aquariums.”
Another concern is that retailers may be offered Myriophyllum heterophyllum (a North American Water Milfoil) as an alternative submerged pond plant. This plant is known to be causing issues in other parts of Northern Europe and there is already a voluntary ban on selling this plant in Holland. We are therefore calling on the UK industry to refrain from supplying and selling this plant to British pond owners.
“We do need to take care about selling plants that are causing an issue in Northern Europe where we have similar climate conditions – such as Myriophyllum heterophyllum,” explained OATA Chief Executive Dominic Whitmee.
“This is not a big seller in the UK so we’d ask the industry to act responsibly and not seek to replace any of the banned plants with one that has been flagged up as causing an issue.”
