Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment Should I add vegetation?

My 2 acre pond was stocked with CNBG, RES and FHM this fall. LMB and HSB are going to be stocked later this year. I placed rock, tree tops and pallets in the pond for structure. I also want to stock addition forage like bullfrog tadpoles, paper-shell crawfish and possibly grass shrimp. It is a old pond that I renovated and does not have any vegetation. My questions are do I need vegetation, if so what types and what are the disadvantages of adding vegetation? The pond is located in North Alabama.

I can't give you much help on this. I do know that the grass shrimp need vegetation. It was discussed on here somewhere not to long ago. Sorry I can't remember what kind....The crayfish will like rocks and similar habitat.

There are three main types of vegetation for ponds: submerged, emergent, and floating. Each grouping has pros and cons plus all the various species have pros and cons. The main con is each type or species spreads, some much, much faster than others; thus requiring some sort of management or work. But if one wants actively growing plants to utilize nutrients and compete against other problematic species then the faster growing types become beneficial. "It all depends". Myself I prefer the slower growing species since they require less management to keep under control and do not cause "weedy" which problems.
Remember this: All living plants will spread. There are a whole lot of options for plant species to choose. If you don't choose and plant some "mother nature" will do it for you and the ones she seeds into your BOW are usually invasive and or rampent spreaders because her goal is to colonize the pond asap.
If you do some searching through past topics here or use search you can locate some previous discussions about best or preferred plants for ponds.

After years of experiencing different kinds of plants in my pond my favorite is the curly leaf pond weed. It comes on strong in the first half of the season and then dies back to maybe a fifth of what it was. It aerates the pond and the leaves form a nice airy structure for minnows to swim through.

FP, Bill gave a very good answer for a hard question. Things like water clarity, average pond depth, fluctuating water levels, all come into play. After John's previous posts, I added curly leaf eel grass to a small pond I have, and have very happy with the initial results. But, I can control the water level as needed, and I'm not sure how this would work if you have big water fluctuations.

I would probably get with the state fisheries dept and see what if any plants they are adding to public waters. Also, there may be venders that sell plants in your area. They should know the best plants for your plans. Right now, bog plants look very appealing to me.

Here's a link to a vender that sells plants here in TX. I have no personal experience with him, but it is informational.

LINK

As Bill said, be very careful. Plants can spread quickly and become an issue.

FirelsHot above mentioned curly leaf eel grass. Technically that name involves two different species of submerged aquatic plant. Curly leaf is curly-leaf pondweed (Potomogeton crispis)and consided by many including myself a fast spreading rampant invasive plant. It is an exotic from Europe brought into the US many years ago. It is considered a cool or cold water plant growing well in fall, surviving well in winter, and flourishing in spring until it forms seeds and winter buds. Then most of the mature part of the plant population fairly rapidly dies back. It definately has pros and cons but for most the cons outweigh the pros.
Eel grass (Vallisneria americana including several varieties or subspecies)is aka ribbon grass. The variety that FirelsH was probably referring to above is probably corkscrew or spiral eel grass. I like this short growing form of submerged plant. It IMO has many more pros than cons. J.Monroe, several others, and I are growing this plant in our ponds. It is much less invasive and less probematic compared to most all submerged plant species.

Good catch, Bill is correct. I have what John and Bill have.

Also, do a lot of research into what is considered an invasive species. There are some plants that are sold in the aquarium trade that are considered invasive species if they get out into the "wild" and will be hard AND expensive to control.

esshup is very correct. Heed his advice well. Be wary of advice when buying aquatic plants for your pond from any seller, especially nurseries and aquarium/plant stores. Their advice is often geared for backyard lily ponds or pools where rapidly spreading plants can be very easily controlled compared to those plants in 0.3 to 30 acres of water. Remember this rule "Almost all your plant problems occur in shallow water not deep water". The more shallow water (<4-6ft) that you have, the more it can easily become thick with vegetation especially if that vegetation spreads fast or rampedly.

Choose wisely and after getting 2nd or 3rd opinions when selecting plants for introduction to your pond. Also from my learning the "hard way"; be aware that seeds, spores and tiny root fragments can "piggy back" on the purchased plants and then those "piggy back" plants can sprout and grow wildly in your pond. That is how I got my curly leaf pond weed despite my washing all planted plants.

Just so you know here is a clip from the Alabama state pond book.

Aquatic plants from water gardens or ornamental ponds should never be placed in a fish pond. Many of these plants are not native to Alabama and can have serious environmental impacts on ponds or adjacent natural waters. Most are illegal to place in the public waters of
Alabama.

http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/where/ponds/pondbook.pdf

Thanks for the advice. There is a 1/3 acre cove in my pond that the water ranges from 1 to 3 feet. I want to cover about half of that in vegetation. Looks like I will go with some type of eel grass and a few hardy lilies. Do you have a recommendation on a variety that would do well in the southeast. I am also going to call my state's Wildlife Biologist to see what he recommends. I will give you an update when I get his recommendations.

I just talked to the Alabama Fisheries Dept. and they said do not add any type of vegetation. They said the risk are far greater than the rewards. Looks like i will not be adding plants.

I think you will find with 1 to 3' depth some vegatation will be growing in the first year. The question will be if it will be the type you want. Here in south central Alabama we try to keep the vegatation beat back to keep it from taking over.

I read over the AL plant part of the pond mgmt guide. It is a pretty standard discussion similar to that of most all state agencies. I quote: "Aquatic plants from water gardens or ornamental ponds should never be placed in a fish pond." As just one example, it is sort of like saying "don't ever drive a car - you could get lost or even killed". Both quotes have pros and cons. There are several reasons for that standard govrnmt statement about plants that deal with pros and cons of adding plants as I mentioned in my post above. Those governmental guidelines are common statements and intended for pondowners who know little and have limited experience about pond/lake mgmt. General guidelines as basic information. They basically want to protect you from yourself. Too often private citizens make mistakes that are often preventable. This is also why I and 'esshup' mentioned above to DO your homework, become knowledgable and get 1, 2, or 3 professional opinions - then decide what if anything to do. So far, it is your pond to do mostly what you want with it. But that may change in the future if a new congressional bill gets approved and passed into law.

You are very welcome to come back here for advice when weeds are a problem in your pond. Your pond will always want to grow lots of plants/weeds based on pond fertility, water depth, and water clarity. Even the government can't stop lots of plants from growing in your pond. After you have lived with your pond for 5-10 years you will learn who is most correct. Plus govrnmt will not come out and physically fix the problem for you which is one of the numerous reasons they sugggest not adding any plants because they assume you do not know what you are doing. Again they are trying to save you from yourself. IMO the same basic guidelines can be applied to what you put into your body. The human body and a pond are basically living ecosystems, both similar in many ways. We can choose to put in them what we want. Hopefully we choose wisely.

I think that unless you physically/chemically beat them back, plants will establish in your pond. It might take 2-3 years, but they WILL show up.

I agree with Bill, will the invading species be the ones that you want?

Just another thought. If a plant takes over your pond after several years, it doesn't always require chemicals to eliminate it or control it. Grass carp in high numbers did a complete clean out of submerged plants in my pond that was chocked with the dreaded Eurasian Milfoil and it never came back. Had I wanted EM but controlled I would have used lesser numbers of GC. GC won't always eat the plants you want eliminated or controlled but in the numbers I used, 18/acre they cleaned out everything. The Curly Leaf Pondweed I like is curtailed further with a few GC besides it's natural ability to thin out in the heat of the summer.