Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Are you an idiot to plant watershield (brasenia)?

I have a fairly small pond (50-60 K gallons estimated) that is bowl shaped with a depth of nearly six feet deep in the middle and about 60 feet long by 35-40 feet wide. It is exactly one year old and just stocked with catfish. I added some minnows today as a future food source for the cats.

I also picked up some 'watershield' from a local pond and planted it today before knowing what it was exactly. The pond it came out of was not overrun with it; I'd estimate it covered about 1/4th of the surface area. If I leave the watershield in my pond will it migrate to the deepest part of the pond. Since my water is not clear by any stretch of the imagination and the pH is currently very alkaline I wondered if it's growth would be held in check to the shallower parts around the outside of the pond.

Has anyone had success keeping watershield in check or should I immediately pull out what was planted to avoid headaches down the road.

Any input appreciated,

Ed (in Arkansas)

I wouldn't say that. As long as you know the downside to having it in your pond, and are willing to use chemicals to control it if it gets out of hand then as long as it stays in your pond, no harm no foul.

Your pond is small enough that killing the plants won't be very expensive if you decide that you don't like them.

I'm biased.. I hated plants for a long time since I have about an acre of a 3.5 acre pond that is 3ft or less mmy plant/weed growth is phenomenonal.. I use to kill it off then had very bad algae blooms (plus I increased feeding to 300 lbs month so I don't know exactly what to blame) this year I'm going all natural letting plants grow and my algae is kicked back but I also knocked 100 lbs off the feed a month so who the hell knows lol

What is the downside to watershield? And would I expect to see it move into the deeper part of the pond?

If chemicals became necessary would they kill off the other plant life that might be established as well?

That's the problem. Where light can get to the bottom of the pond, it will grow. It spreads fast, and can get dense.



That all depends on the type of chemicals that you use.

For more information, look here:
http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/management-options/water-shield/

Thanks ESSHUP. Especially for the aquaplant link.