Pond Boss
Posted By: Brad346 ID help - 06/24/21 04:29 AM
Our pond weeds here in western Colorado are proving challenging to identify. The one with the little white flowers I have figured out. The other, with a heavier stem, sometimes pink, is the challenge. Can anyone help with this one?
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It is difficult to rake unless it is over 3 feet tall. It tends to pull through the rake teeth instead of breaking.

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Posted By: Theo Gallus Re: ID help - 06/24/21 10:25 AM
Coontail, IMHO.
Posted By: esshup Re: ID help - 06/24/21 07:40 PM
Eurasian Watermilfoil. The pink color and the flowers is a good indicator.

Appearance

Eurasian watermilfoil is a rooted, submerged aquatic plant. The leaves appear green while the stems are white to reddish.
Leaves and Stem

Leaves are feather-like, with four leaves arranged in a whorl (radiating out from a single point) around the stem. Space between whorls along the stem can be a half inch or greater. Each leaf has a central axis with 12 to 21 leaflet pairs. Leaflets are limp when the plant is removed from the water. The stem is typically light brown, but sometimes pink. Tips of the plant are sometimes red or pink in color. Color alone should not be used for identification as it can be highly variable.
Flowers

A small pink flower spike up to four inches long produces tiny yellow flowers. Male and female flowers are found on the same plant.
Seeds

Even though each plant can produce approximately 100 seeds per season, this species is more successful at reproducing via fragments.
Roots

Roots are thin, white, and sometimes form dense clumps underneath the plant.

It's in all of the states except Hawaii.

It's easy to kill with a low dose of Fluridone. It's best to treat the plant in late April to early May because it takes 30-45 days to die. You want to treat it before it sets seeds for that growing year.
Posted By: Brad346 Re: ID help - 06/25/21 12:26 AM
Thanks esshup! Sounds right. At this point, I’m trying to rake it, but working on another plan, at least for parts of the pond. Grass carp went in this spring, but they were pretty small. They will not go hungry.

I have one more.

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An individual.
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It is dense and lower growing. It hasn’t reached the surface yet. Any ideas? This one doesn’t bother me as much.
Posted By: Steve_ Re: ID help - 06/25/21 02:17 AM
Hmm, I'm gonna go with some kind of Naiad or Water Nymph. I first thought it could be Widgeon Grass, but after looking at images, I don't think that's it. Interested to see what others have to say.
Posted By: esshup Re: ID help - 06/25/21 02:31 AM
DON'T rake the EWM. You will only spread it because it will grow individual plants from all the broken pieces that you leave in the pond.

The 2nd/3rd picture to me looks like Chara. Technically it is an algae. Take a handful, ball it up and roll it around in your hand, then smell it. The other name for it is skunkweed......

You can rake the Chara out, or treat it with Cutrine Plus granules. 40#/1/2 surface acre.
Posted By: Brad346 Re: ID help - 06/25/21 03:08 AM
Originally Posted by esshup
DON'T rake the EWM. You will only spread it because it will grow individual plants from all the broken pieces that you leave in the pond.

The 2nd/3rd picture to me looks like Chara. Technically it is an algae. Take a handful, ball it up and roll it around in your hand, then smell it. The other name for it is skunkweed......

You can rake the Chara out, or treat it with Cutrine Plus granules. 40#/1/2 surface acre.

The EWM is already growing everywhere it isn’t too deep. I’m not sure I have anything to loose by raking it. The broken pieces tend to blow to one side where they are pretty easy to rake out. While raking the Chara out, thought I smelled a skunk.
Posted By: jim100 Re: ID help - 06/25/21 12:47 PM
Esshup is spot on. I would follow the DON'T part about raking. Spend the money on Sonar (fluridone) and let it work.
Posted By: ewest Re: ID help - 06/25/21 03:47 PM
See links for all the info including control

https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/eurasian-watermilfoil/

https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/management-options/eurasian-watermilfoil/
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