Guide: Toxic Plant List for Your Pond

[Backyard Getaway (Lisa Burns)]

I've talked about edible pond plants and versatile pond plants that can be used in both the pond and landscape, but did you know that many common garden and water garden plants are toxic?

There are many commonly used plant species that can be harmful to our pets as well as to people.

This includes houseplants.

Some houseplants that can be toxic include elephant ear, philodendrons, English Ivy, Amaryllis and the peace lily to name a few.

 

 

Toxic Plants in Your Pond

Remember, if a plant is toxic to us or to our pets, it will also be toxic to our Koi fish.

Furthermore, plants that are not toxic to humans may still be a problem for your pond fish.

The seeds of most plants will swell in the pond and if your Koi eat the seeds they could plug up the digestive tract.

Don’t panic!

You don’t have to start ripping plants out of your yard and pond.

If you have children or pets you may want to transplant these plants to an area out of reach.

Most importantly, keep an eye on small children and curious pets while they are in your garden.

As for the pond, all you need to do is make sure the toxic plants are out of reach from the Koi.

Before you make your wish list of new plants for your garden you may want to consider the list below.

 

Plant name and Toxic plant part

These are just a few of the more common toxic garden plants, some of which you will recognize as pond plants. Keep in mind this is just a partial list using common names & the part of the plant that is known to be toxic.

• Amaryllis: bulbs
• Black Locust Bark: sprouts, foliage
• Bird of Paradise: seeds
• Buttercup: sap, leaves
• Baneberry: berries, roots
• Cherry: bark, twigs, leaves & pits
• Calla Lily: leaves
• Coral plant; seeds
• Daffodil: bulbs
• Eggplant: everything but the fruit itself
• English Ivy: berries
• Elephant Ears: leaves, stem
• Foxglove: leaves, seeds
• Hemlock: all parts
• Hyacinth: bulbs
• Iris: bulbs
• Jasamine: berries
• Java Bean: uncooked bean
• Lantana: immature berries
• Laurel: all parts
• Locoweed: all parts
• Mistletoe: berries
• Mock orange: fruit
• Morning Glories: all parts
• Poinsettia: leaves, flowers
• Potato: eyes, new roots
• Redwood sap Rhubarb: leaves
• Snapdragon: all parts
• Tiger lily: all parts
• Tomato: leaves
• Tulip: bulbs

 

Please look for more of my posts on water gardening on  Garden Center TV and on my website  Backyard Getaway.