Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Identifying plants What are these?

Sorry I'm on my phone and can't really dig too deep into forum. I noticed these two plants emerging tonight after returning from vacation. I hope they are nothing invasive. Thanks.


Also what is brown stuff floating up from bottom? It's covered in little air bubbles and the slightest movement and it comes to top. I put some blue pond dye in before the 4th. Could that of killed the stuff on bottom?

The top one is I think a type of Rush weed with a little FA floating around it.. Don't know about the bottom one..

Rush can be a pain in the neck.. I have a buttload of it and its about 2-3ft tall lining 75% of my bank I've learned to love it compared to FA and Primrose..

Yes, the top is a species of rush. It doesn't get any taller than about 2-3 feet, so it is a preferred shorelines species compared to some. The bottom is a pondweed, most likely American pondweed. In my opinion, one of the better submerged aquatic vegetation species out there. The stuff floating up is FA dying in the heat, rotting and floating to the surface.

Thanks guys. Should I pull all that rush? It's still containable. 3 foot circle wide in couple feet of water. Wonder where it came from?

I would say some of it is good but keep an eye on it, it will multiply, aquatic herbicide knocks it out pretty quick and it'll be gone for a couple years, primrose I would never recommend to anyone that stuff is horrid..

The rush looks cool in parts of the pond ill take some pics of mine tomorrow to give you a better idea of what it will look like when it multiplies..

Some plant life is good in your pond too suck up some of those nutrients that would otherwise be used by FA..

BGK and CJB are both right. Top is rush (most likely soft rush) and the bottom looks like American pondweed.

Ok thanks everybody.

I don't mind the rush. I've got a patch of it along a shallow shorline at the inlet end of my pond and think it gives the pond a "natural" look, if you know what I mean. Takes the edge off the "new pond" look.

How about these.

Those sure look like cattails to me. Someone can confirm? If so, nuke them from orbit or dig them out by the roots.

That looks like " waterthread pondweed ", aka Potamogeton diversifolius.
It differs from what is sometimes called "American pondweed", which is generally known as "long-leaf pondweed " in most parts of the country.

Potamogeton diversifolius is sure likely - not American Pondweed Potamogeton nodosus and that is a good thing.

Soft rush and FA.

It says it grows in Florida. How in world could it of ended up in my new pond in Missouri? So I should leave it alone and let it do its thing or get rid of it now?

" PODI" is found throughout most of the lower 48 states and in parts of Canada and Mexico.
As for management: Ten people would likely offer 10 opinions, and one or more opinion could be correct - depending upon a variety of circumstances.
In short, you might consider taking steps to keep it in check if your pond's design favors over-proliferation of this species. Otherwise, it can offer benefits for the pond if the plant "self-maintains" at a tolerable level. It is usually fairly easy to spot-treat with Aquathol, although limiting the area of impact may pose a challenge.

The rush like plant is blunt spike rush (Eleocharis obtusa or E. ovata). I have seen it called knob rush. It grows in clumps and is not invasive. It is a very beneficial shoreline plant. IMO promote it. I don't think it grows in large beds since it has a clump growth pattern. It can get knee high but I think that it rare for it. If is much much better than cattails. All the other species of spikerush grow in beds with stems varying distances apart depending on species. Spike rushes do not get as tall as the bull rushes which makes spike rush a much better pond shoreline plant.

I am pretty sure that the three grass like plants are not cattails. Leaves are not wide enough. Keep an eye on them and see if they flower and produce seeds, that will help a lot in positive identification.

Ok thanks. Ill keep an eye on all three and keep you guys updated.

Fan away the soil from the roots of the grassy looking plant, pull one up and take a picture. By just pulling on the plant without fanning away the soil, you might break off the runners.

If it shows a white "runner" then I'd say cattail. It looks what immature cattails look like in my pond.

Jwwanne - I also hoped these were not cattails, but I think they are. Much easier to pull now.

I'm not touching the next one. Kelly Shot down my American Pondweed and BC rained on my soft rush. Leave it to the experts (the Scientifical and the taxo-something-or-other)

Now thats funny stuff right there!! I am just glad Bill didn't start talking Russian or Italian or whatever he said...

esshup has a good way to help with identification. If they are connected or have a white fleshy root then yes likely cattails. Real young ones can have narrow leaves. I would dig them up not pull and rinse off all the roots and take another picture. They can always be replanted if kept wet.

Halfway down the thread, I am 100% certain these are cattails. I have EXACTLY the same thing going on. In a new pond when the bottom soils have not accumulated any nutrients yet, the cattails are pretty pathetic and look more like grass. However if they manage to get some roots into something a little more fertile, they take off!

Pull them while they are little like this, and they will be easy to control. Wait too long and the tubers which travel just under the surface of the soils will snap off while you are pulling, and then you will have to pull again... and again...

Heading out for some pond wading. Pics to come.

They had spread like the plague. Some were connected. I found ten more in the area.



Snapped a couple more pics of pond weeds growing while I was at it.


Thanks everybody. I pulled all of the suspect cattals and now know what to look for while doing my daily walk around.

Can we designate this day as the one I got a plant ID right before Bill Cody did?

7/24

New national holiday.