Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Identifying plants Plant ID Please…

Some people like Chara as a pond plant and ducks supposedly like to eat it. I do not like Chara for mainly 2 reasons. 1. It is hard to kill when it gets overabundant and forms a thick bed on the pond bottom, grass carp at 8-12 per acre will eat most of it. Chara when abundant causes the water to be too clear and this allows Chara to cover the entire pond bottom. 2. It prevents water circulation to the mud water interface and this zone becomes anoxic, very smelly, and profuse with black sediments lacking oxygen which is why the sediment is black. Invertebrates cannot live in the anoxic black layer of pond bottom. Black sediments are releasing phosphorus causing other problems. If you are getting it from a stream the basal sediment of the Chara might not be black due to the moving water current and spates (flushing). I would never plant it in a pond. IMO there are much better types of submerged vegetation.

Since you live in warmer winter TX look into buying some spiral eel grass plants (also known as corkscrew). maybe start using 10-50 "starts" from sellers on the internet. Then see if it lives one full year in your pond .Waterfowl like to eat these plants. I usually first plant it in a wash basin or tub with heavy garden dirt placed in the shallow beach area or deeper to keep geese away for a summer or for a full year and let it spread throughout the tub; then transplant all the reproductions where you want it to get growing. It spreads but not nearly as fast as Chara. All plants spread some faster than others. IMO and experience it is best to start in mid to late spring, let it grow all summer then transplant plants in fall. All eel grass plants keep the sediment clean and healthy. Fish can hunt through it. It does not get as tall as standard eel grass (Vallisneria americana) that grows up to 6ft tall and spreads faster than spiral (corkscrew). Also good is Vallisneria torta or any of the short forms.
Another similar very good submerged short plant for the bottom is dwarf Sagittaria. (Sagittaria subulata). Similar to eel grass but grows shorter 4"-6" tall. See my private message to you.

Both of the mentioned plants do not like northern winters with ice cover.

Main problem with these plants is the geese love to eat them. Sometimes they need to be protected with tree brush plaid on top and around them until they become well established.