About this pond I inherited - its surface is completely covered with lily pads and in the water, the pads' stems and some fern/kelp like plant seem to choke the water. I pulled a bunch out near the water's edge and the fish came and swam up to me, so I fed them some crackers.

My question is, hoe much plant coverage is too much? i want to ensure the fish have shade, but should I also worry about the water getting too congested?

 

you could always share your lily's

websites state 60% of the pond surface should be covered by plants. Your pond does look a bit over grown. Possibly getting your ducky boots on a get in there and thin some of it out.

 

Looks pretty heavy on lilies to me as well. I would split them and share with someone who needs em. Are they growing out of pots on the bottom? If they are, be prepared for them to have totally overgrown the pots, meaning you'll need to cut back the roots like crazy. I had a couple growing out of pots where I couldn't even see the pot anymore.

Don't worry, what ever you remove will be back next year with a vengeance

 

I have the opposite problem, I have buys hundred's of dollars each spring in hopes the pond get's at least a quarter covered. The season is to short.

I would love to get connected with a plant sharing program. Probably couldn't send across the border either so to find a Canadian that has an abundant of plants might be hard.