Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Identifying plants Is this Chara?

I know Chara isn't a plant but I thought I would post this here. It doesn't feel gritty when crushed, it does have an odor but not skunky or like garlic. It looks brown and dead looking in the water but is more of an olive green when you take it out. Some is floating on the surface unattached but there is some growing underwater at 3-4 feet as well. Only minnows in the pond so far.

That's what it looks like to me. Chara

shoot

What should I do? There's Aquashade in the pond. It's a re-dig done in Sept 2010.

hand pull (PITA), Cutrine or Cutrine plus. If it's small bunches and you don't want to hand pull, I'd use the granular form of Cutrine. No need to mix up a liquid, just sprinkle some on the plants when you see them. Keep the open bag in a dry place.

From the label:
Waters treated with CUTRINE-PLUS may be used for swimming, fishing, drinking, livestock watering or irrigating turf, ornamental plants or crops immediately after treatment. (when used at the recommended dosages)

I don't want any Chara! Can I eradicate it with Cutrine Granules? I've never had Chara before. Is this a sign that my pH is off or do I have too many nutrients from all the runoff? There isn't anything else growing in the pond yet. The turtles and frogs have moved in and I have added some beneficial bacteria when I started the aerator. The pond is for swimming.

If you want to read the label, go here

They say that for spot treating, or bottom growing algae in deeper water, use the granular.

Yep. Algae will grow first and fastest. If it was my pond, I'd try to limit any nutrients going into the pond, either by runoff or by critters, both with and without legs. I know you don't want plants, but if you can put some plants that don't spread, or that spread slowly and are easily treatable if they get out of hand, they would help utilize the nutrients that are in there, probably keeping the nutrients from being utilized by algae.

It's a void that nature wants to fill. You can continue to fight it, or direct it into some form that you can live with. Unfortunately, ponds are not the same as swimming pools, and can't be managed like a pool.

John Monroe has ponds that have very clear water, but he's also got a lot of plants in them.

Would it hurt to treat the whole pond? It's not in just one area.

I was planning on planting some Iris but I have a lot of projects going on right now. I'll post a picture of the iris as soon as I find it.

I'll look forward to the pics. I planted 17 Blue Flag Iris today, and a bakers dozen Pickerelweed plants. I bought them from J.F. New in Walkerton, IN. The Blue Flag were 10"-12" plants and in a flat, the Pickerelweed was 18"-24" tall and bare root.

Unfortunately, I can't locate the picture right now I have a zillion pictures. If I can't find it I will take another picture even though it's not in bloom.

I'll have to look up the Blue Flag Iris and Pickerelweed you mentioned. I know I have to fill the void. My iris is a wild species, I think it's called a swamp iris and I've been propagating it for years. It has a single purple flower on a single stalk, the foliage is grassy-like, pretty tall and the leaves aren't fleshy. I'm not sure how deep I can plant it but it does like to have it's feet wet.

I would like to get some eel grass too, a smaller variety, but I don't have a source for that yet.

I still have some Chara questions.....Will I spread the Chara by raking it out? Doesn't Chara grow deep? Should I treat the whole pond? Is time of the essence, lol? Do I have time to mess with changing the pH before I treat? I've heard horror stories about Chara and I'm worried. I want to try some Phoslock to knock down some of the phosphates too.

No, I don't think you'll spread it. It doesn't grow from roots per se, it's a form of algae. Chara will grow deep if sunlight gets down deep. I'd just spot treat it, no need to treat the whole pond unless the whole pond is covered, and it didn't look like that from the pictures. Chara is the easiest to knock back when it's young, as it gets older the outside calsifies for lack of a better term, making it harder for the algacide to penetrate to the plant. I don't think you have to play with the pH before you treat, I haven't bothered with it before. Don't worry, it isn't any worse than FA. If left untreated, it will grow and become a solid mat, and if left alone the mat can become a couple of feet thick.

If you have a thick stand of it, and can rake it out, do so. It'll help remove some of the nutrients in the pond. Put it on a bare area near or in a garden. Don't leave it on the grass for a long time to dry out, the grass will die under it from lack of sunlight.

Thank you!

I'll work on getting that picture posted.

Have a nice holiday weekend.

That doesn't look like Chara to me, not if what I have has been identified as Chara... otherwise Chara takes on two different looks.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=259510#Post263481

There is a clear difference... and mine smells similar to a skunk smell, not exact, but it has resemblances to it. This looks thicker and appears to have bulb-like growth around some of the leaf areas.

I wonder if it may be Nitella, which I think may be more popular up north. Treatment would be the same, but there needs to be assurance that it is algae and not another form of weed... OR that either mine or yours is not misidentified, since they look different.