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water hyacinth

Floating Plants: A contribution to your Pond

by Mark

 

There are many water plants that will play important roles in the health and wellbeing of your pond.  One of the major players is going to be floating plants.  Floating pond plants play many roles that help with maintenance, but contribute to the health of the wildlife surrounding your pond.

Nitrates and phosphates are the nutrients in water that cause the most algae growth in your pond.  Floating plants constantly absorb these nutrients.  Thus, helping clear up or prevent murky water.  The roots of floating pond plants also prove a great place for fish and frogs to lay their eggs.  This not only protects the eggs, but keeps the eggs from taking over the visible areas of your pond.  Floating pond plants keep your pond cool which will also help keep algae away.  To have proper balance achieved you may need up to 60% of the surface area of your pond.  That may seem like a lot, but you can get many different kinds of floating plants so you can not only achieve a balanced ecosystem for your pond, but a beautiful landscape feature for you to enjoy.

Water Lilies

Water lily
Image via Wikipedia

Water lilies are among the group of hardy pond plants that many people enjoy.  You don’t have to worry too much about babysitting your water lilies once you’ve got them floating in your pond.  The only way to truly ruin one would be if it got frozen solid!  As long you are making sure to prune off dead flowers and leaves, and your lilies are getting 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day you should have beautiful results.

Most water lilies only bloom during certain hours of the day.  The hardiest kind only bloom during the daytime hours.  So if you work, and you never see a bloom during the week, no worries, you can look forward to a weekend full of full blooms on your pond!

Another couple of things to remember about water lilies is that they don’t like being splashed.  This is something important to know, especially if you have a fountain or some sort of waterfall in your pond.  Plant the lilies far away from these water sources to avoid accidently drowning your lilies.  Also, make sure to plant your lilies in appropriate depth water.  Rule of thumb, the bigger the lily, the deeper the water!  But typically 18-30 inches of water should do the trick.

Water lilies are a classic choice that is a great contribution to any water garden as they add beauty, grace, and help achieve a healthy pond.

Water Hyacinth

If you are looking for a floating plant for your pond that is showy and will pop against the surroundings of your pond, water hyacinth is something to take a look at.  They have round or oval shiny leaves, the stalk is thick, and the flowers are large and beautiful.  The flowers typically are 2-3 inches and bloom a blue or lilac color with a yellow spot on each one.  Occasionally (or should I say rarely) you will get white blooms.

Water hyacinth is another one of those hardy pond plants: it can actually survive freezing temperatures.  So if you live in a place where you have extreme weather, this plant may serve you well.  It does however reproduce a lot, and quickly, so you need to make sure that you keep a close eye on your hyacinth so it does not take over your pond.  Making sure that you don’t throw excess hyacinths into the opposite end of your pond or even leaving it on the bank or your pond will help keep your water hyacinth under control.

Water hyacinths are distinguishable plants that provide a unique look to any water garden.

Penny Wart

Penny wart is a floating plant that works as a great filler and looks great when planted in bunches, as it can look scraggly if placed too thin.  Be aware that there are many different types of penny wart that work well in certain climates.  Some types won’t grow in warm water, but will in cool water.  Some are meant to be planted in gravel and not water.  If you are planning on ordering online, do some research at your local nursery to find out what type of penny wart would work for you.

Penny wart is a very hardy pond plant that needs minimal attention and not a lot of sunlight when it comes to growth.  When it starts growing, it doesn’t stop, so watch it carefully.  It can become very invasive and hard to remove.

Water lettuce

Another great floating plant is water lettuce.  Sometime people confuse it with water hyacinth, but the leaves are more ribbed and they bloom white flowers.  Water lettuce is a beautiful pond plant that covers your pond surface well and produces beautiful flowers for you to enjoy.  It is, however, very sensitive to cold water.  If the water gets near or below 50 degrees the leaves of your water lettuce are going to start yellowing.

Other than the sensitivity of water temperature, water lettuce is an easy plant to have.  Of course, keep and eye on it to make sure it doesn’t start to overtake the surface of your pond.  To remove it all you need to do it rake it up from the surface.

Keep up with your floating Plants

Overall, keeping control of the surface of your water by choosing floating plants that work for your environment is going to be the best bet for a healthy pond.  Making sure they don’t overgrow is going to be the most important thing you can do when maintaining these plants.  Having no sunlight available to your pond can be detrimental to your pond and the wildlife in it.  Floating plants will give back to you by helping keep your water clean and the animals in and around your pond in a healthy, natural habitat.

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Filed Under: Fish And Plants, Small Ponds Tagged With: floating plants, floating pond plants, hardy pond plants, penny wart, pond plants, water hyacinth, water lettuce, water lilies, water lily, water plants

Pond Weed Control And Treatments

by Mark

There are many things that can grow in a large pond or lake. Algae is one of the more common things you’ll find but along with that, or in place of it, a pond weed will take root and sometimes take over a pond or water way.  Some of these aquatic weeds can be very invasive and the more well established they become the harder they can be to control.  In this article we’ll talk about some of the more common pond weeds one might find across North America and we’ll provide some tips on the best ways to control them.

Cattails And Emergent Plants

By definition, emergent plants grow mostly around a pond, in shallow waters or along the shoreline. For most of us around the U.S. the most common of these would be cattails, reeds, Pennywort, or Bulrush. Because they are usually within easy reach, many people try to remove these manually by using a pond weed rake, or with some heavy equipment and often enough this can help keep them in check for a time.

If a pond owner is unable to physically remove the plants then an aquatic herbicide is likely the best option, and this generally goes for any type of aquatic weed as well. Remove them if you can, treatment if you must. A product called Shore Klear, combined with an activator such as Cide Kick is usually recommended to treat emergent plants. Shore Klear is sprayed directly on the plant and is only good for those that extend above the water’s surface. It doesn’t work well with submerged growth, however it is highly targetable and works well on many emergent pond weeds.

The Pondweed Familly

The term “pondweed” actually represents a species of plants that has over a dozen varieties of pond weeds that can be found in large ponds. A few of the more common plants include Curly Leaf, Large Leaf, Clasping Leaf, and Sago. It’s not as critical to determine the variety since treatments are consistent within the entire family. You’ll know you have a pondweed species when you see fairly long, vine like stems, with leaves branching off of them at different spots. Most leaves are long and slender however this can vary a bit. Sago as an example doesn’t have leaves to speak of, and you may only see very small vine extensions coming off the main stem. This type of plant can sometimes grow in water as deep as ten feet if it is pretty clear and you’ll often see it extending to the surface where it will spread out.

Several broad spectrum aquatic herbicides will work well on pondweeds. Aquathol Super K and Hydrothol are both granular products that can be broadcast over the plant growth and will usually work well to control growth.

Duckweed And Watermeal

Duckweed is one of the more obvious pond weeds since it only floats on the surface of a pond. It’s fast growing and can overtake a large body of water pretty quickly. Free-floating blooms of it will be blown by the wind and may move around the surface of the pond. If you look at duckweed closely you’ll see a somewhat flat, pod-like pellet that has several hair like roots coming off of it. In great numbers they may appear to be a solid mass on the water but they are in fact, individual plants that are pulling their nutrient support directly from the water.

A pond may go without having any issues with duckweed for many years, however the plant can come in, while attached to waterfowl and when conditions are right it will bloom, seemingly out of nowhere.

Watermeal is similar to duckweed however in appearance it’s much smaller in size with what appears to be very fine green grains however once again, when these are dense enough they will cover the surface of a pond.

Physical removal of duckweed is sometimes possible but usually the best course to take is to use some type of herbicide to control the plant. These should ideally be applied early on in the growth, before it becomes widespread on a pond. A product called Sonar, which contains a chemical called fluridone is usually suggested for duckweed control. White Cap is another brand. For a more eco-friendly option a new product on the market called Elemna8 may provide desirable results as well.

Waterlilies Are Good But…

Waterlilies add beauty to any pond that they grow in. No question about that. They also can help provide shade and protection for fish, and work to outcompete unwanted plants like algae. However waterlilies are also really good at growing and they can overtake a pond if they are not managed somewhat.

If you find that waterlilies are getting the upper hand there are several things you can do. Manual removal is an option if they’re not too heavy. Apart from that a product called Navigate can be applied to control them. After blossoms have appeared Shore Klear can be used to good effect.

Invasive Plants Include Hydrilla And Water Hyacinth

Of all the pond weeds that may cause problems for larger ponds, there are several that are so invasive, fast growing, and prolific, that they are now creating a number of issues in various states around the country. Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crasipes) for example is a plant that’s actually native to South America. It’s actually a popular plant to add to small ponds and water gardens, however it infested freshwater areas from the east cost to the west coast and is very troublesome in the southeast U.S. in particular. In many cases a non-native species can harm desirable local species as it chokes them out over time.

Other waters which may be used for irrigation or cooling can become infested and clog up systems or in the case of Hydrilla in Texas, some lakes there have become so heavily burdened that recreation and navigation are being restricted.

It doesn’t take much of the plant to get a foothold and since conditions are often ideal in the southern United States, the plants can grow and spread very quickly. Some control measures include various herbicides but there are also trials underway using biocontrols. M. scutellaris is a small bug native to South American that feeds very specifically on water hyacinth and they may provide a non-chemical way to keep the plants in check.

Where invasive plants are concerned, the best option is to limit their spread by simply not introducing them into the area’s water ecosystem. Small pond and aquarium owners who may benefit from the plant need to make sure they are disposed of properly. If they are removed from the pond or tank, be sure they are dead for about two days before disposing or insure that they come nowhere near a water source of any kind. It has shown the ability to survive in water in trash cans or buckets. They should never be dumped live into a a nearby lake or stream as they wil likely infect the water in short order.

Pond Weed Control Tips

Along with the recommendations that we’ve included for various plants, as a general rule it’s best to attempt the treatment of many pond weeds as early as possible in the growing season. Most species don’t grow well in cold or cooler weather and in many parts of the country that may freeze in the winter, the plants will go away entirely only to return again in the spring. Treating as the plant is just emerging will often allow less use of any chemicals simply because the plant may be more isolated, and they tend to be weaker at that time as well. This also tends to be much safer for fish populations because during any treatment where a rapid die off of plants occur there is the chance of oxygen depletion in the water.

It’s also important to clearly identify what the plant is that you have growing in your pond. Ideally you don’t want to guess and just simply start trying to treat it. Many species require specific types of products for the best control. The University of Florida offers a helpful website for aquatic plant identification as does Texas A & M University. Use these resources if you’re not absolutely sure of what you have growing in your pond or lake.

Filed Under: Fish And Plants, Large Ponds Tagged With: cattails, duckweed, hydrilla, pond weed, pond weed rake, pond weeds, pondweed, pondweeds, water hyacinth, waterlilies, watermeal

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