Just joined at the advice of another forum and want to get some insight on how to correctly clean up the reeds in my pond. When we moved in after the first of the year all the reeds were cut down to about a foot off the water. Of course this year they are all over the pond about 10ft deep into the pond and want to come up with the best plan to clean it up.
I was looking at this device seems like it could cut them down but they would just grow back the next year wouldn't they?
Can you mow with a tractor or heavy duty riding-mower a good percentage of those reeds? Some of the more knowledgeable Pond Boss members may know of a chemical treatment.
I have one of those weed-razers...not sure how old you are and your fitness level...but I can tell you those things will give you a workout. I used mine once or twice...it works..but it gave my bad shoulder fits...so it hangs all pretty on the wall in my storage shed now.
Well I am turning 50 this year and ran a marathon in 2014 but I will have my 16 year old nephew give it a whirl if I go with the week razer. Will the reeds just grow back next year if I cut them down? I am thinking about trying it around end of summer when all fully grown.
craigbc, Welcome to Pond Boss....tons of good info and helpful folks here. Not sure if there is a simple solution to the reed problem. I'm afraid if you don't dig them out by the roots, they may just keep growing back....but, I don't really know a lot with regards to reed removal. Be careful whatever avenue that you take (chemicals) to remove them. There is a repercussion for everything that you do or don't do to your pond. Keep Posting!!!
If digging up isnt an option, wait until they are growing well above water, then hit them with a pond approved glyphosphate once or twice until they start showing signs of ill health. At that point the plant has absorbed a lethal dose and you should be able to weed razor it out before it gets brittle. It is unlikely it can come back from that, but if it does, hit it again.
An FYI, that looks like switch grass, and invasive reed around here. It crowds out cattails and makes shallow bodies of water inaccessible. The state have been battling it in Montezuma swamp for years by introducing a bug to eat it and it appears to work. You can see this from the NYS Thruway.
The next time the reed makes an appearance, attack it with much prejudice, it spreads fast by runner.
Sometimes reeds are not well killed well with glysophate. My experience is other herbicides can work better on reeds/bulrush. Kelly Duffie would be the best one to get advice with bulrush killing experience.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 06/04/1602:06 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
Part of the problem with reeds and glyphosphate is the surfactant doesn't allow much of the material to stay on the plant, that is why you may need to spray more than once. Also they have extensive roots and runners, so it takes a lot to get lethal.
Don't do this. It isn't water legal. Costs practically nothing. Has never killed a single fish. One light spray on 8 feet high cattails is a complete kill. No double spraying. In past post I has said this and posted my mixing formula and caught hell. I like cattails but don't want them solid around my and I like to have coves in them to the shore. It takes about five minutes of spraying and the next your the cattails are all gone. No sweat, no fuss, no cattails.
