Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment Pickerelweed, Does anybody have it in their pond?

One more post on vegetation for my pond. I have it down to pretty much Pickerel weed after lots of research and talking with a local marine biologist. I want cover but something that will not take over a 3/4 acre pond that is max 6 ft deep during the summer. I wasn't something to help the fish/wildlife but that wont take over or be extremely difficult to manage.

Most things I read said it wasn't too difficult to control but 1 or 2 said it was borderline invasive? Hopefully somebody recognizes this plant and has it in their pond.

Here is a link from the university of Florida and it sounds ok there.




http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/pickerelweed.htm

I have Pickerelweed in my pond. It spreads very slowly and will give you great purple flowers all summer. It survived being under 5 feet of water this spring. I give it a 5 star rating as far as pond plants go. IMHO A few other good emergent/marginal are Lizard Tail, Duck Potato and Arum.

Ok so I never planted any weeds or plants in my pond so forgive me if this is a dumb question.

1. Lets say I wanted some of this Pickerel Weed. Do I plant it in the water or right at the waters edge?

2. If I plant it in the water how deep what if my water goes down past where I put the plant? Will it die off or will it come back once the pond water comes back up?


Sorry I green thumb I am not!!!

thanks,
RC

I plant in 4 to 6 inches of water. Mine does not grow on dry banks but does survive periodic drying once established. It can spread extensively, but I really like it. I second lizard's tail as an excellent plant. It can form stands where it is planted, but I have not had it move. It is a well behaved plant. Arum is also excellent in my opinion, while duck potato can spread quickly. You can't go wrong with blue flag either.

Ok thanks RAH. So if you plant in about 6 inches of water then this is something I should plant when my water level is down correct. Although the plant may end up in 2 feet of water if pond rises but I don't want it to run out of water right?

My pond water in summer fluctuates a lot so I guess I need to find that happy medium.


Another plant I really like I don't know the tech name of is those green reed plants that look like a tall pencil..... I love them things there no real thick and easy to fish in....

RC

I plant at full pool making sure the leaves are out of the water enough to survive. My ponds stay pretty stable (+/- 12"), so you may need input from someone else for your situation. You could get them going in submerged tubs and move them around until they multiply. Then you could experiment with the extras.

FWIW I planted mine at low pool in 3 or 4 inches of water. Same with the duck potato. Both pickerel weed and duck potato are thriving and were under 5 feet of water this spring. My pond is a water table pond so I get huge water level fluctuations. My rationale for planting at low pool was I did not know if the plants would survive being 5 feet above the waterline during the summer when the level moved from full to low pool.

Bill D that's exactly what my pond does!! thanks that's what I was wondering.

RHA thanks for the info.

RC

My pond moved before I tripled its size between 5 ft and close to 10 ft given hard spring/winter rains or summer dry months.

Did you order some or purchase it somewhere or just relocate?

I ordered my pickerelweed, duck potato, lizard tail, hardy lilies, etc. online. They were all nice healthy plants. As I recall, I got them from a couple different sources. Shop around; prices can vary A LOT. My success rate went up exponentially when I started planting in little burlap pouches instead of directly in the pond bottom. I had trouble keeping direct plantings from floating up (my first time ever trying to plant pond plants and my inexperience was evident! .) I got the burlap pouch idea here on the forum, I believe it was RAH. It's how I plant everything in the pond now.

cannot take credit for the burlap idea. I just put a rock or brick on each plat root/tuber. A local friend just got some of my plants for his pond last weekend.