water garden plants

 

When you look down into your pond and see green pond water, chances are, you get a pretty bad look on your face. No one wants to see green water, especially after they have spent so long working on it. What you are dealing with is pong algae. Believe it or not, this is pretty simple to control. If you have KOI, then you will need to have a good filtration system, which will help control that algae. If you have goldfish and you feed them, then you will need to have filtration, but you will be able to control algae. However, if you do not feed those goldfish and you balance your bond, you will find that algae does not grow so much.

 

Do you know what happens when the sun hits the water? Algae will start to grow. This is how nature works. In order to get past that cycle, there are some things you can do in order to keep it clean and healthy looking.

 

It is important that you ecologically balance your pond. Use bog plants, such as umbrella plants or irises. You will need to have oxygenators or some submerged plants. The best would be to have cabomba followed by anacharis and dhornwort. For every square foot of pond surface, you should have one batch of the plants submerged. You can purchase the plants with rubber bands that hold them together.

 

Before you place your plants in the pond, you will need to take the rubber band off. If you do not want the plants freely floating around, then you could put them in pots that sit on the bottom of the pond. The plants that are under the water will be fertilized by the fish waste. The fist will eat the submerged plants, but that is fine, because they grow faster than they can eat them.

 

We believe this is a pretty good cycle as nature will be caring for itself. Take note that if you have too many fish, they may eat all of the submerged plants. This is great for those individuals that do not feed their fish.

pond plants

When it comes to algae slime on the sides of the pond, you may not believe it, but this is actually a good thing. Do you know what this means? This means that you have a healthy pond. If you feed your fish, then the simple methods of keeping the pond clear is not going to work. You are going to need a filter.

 

You should cover half of the top part of the pond with plants that float. This includes plants such as Parrots feather, water hyacinths, water lilies and water lettuce. If you live in the tropical area, then you may want to have some tropical water lilies. However, you will either need to sacrifice them during the winter or store them in warm weather until spring comes back around.

 

If one day you look down and see green pond water, that does not mean that it is always going to be like that. It just needs a helping hand.

 

 Most ponds will fall victim to duckweed at some point because it is easily spread by migrating waterfowl. If your pond has a layer of small free-floating plants, then you may have a duckweed infestation on your hands.

 

How do you know if that repulsive greenish-yellow layer covering your pond is duckweed? One way to tell is to examine the plants by simply dipping your hand into the water. Some of the duckweed will stick to your hands as you withdraw from the water. Then examine the plants more closely: if each piece looks like 2-4 round leaves with a tiny root hanging down between them, then the plant is most likely some form of duckweed. However, if the individual pieces do not have a root and are more like tiny granular pellets with the consistency of cornmeal, then you probably have watermeal (it is not uncommon to have both duckweed and watermeal at the same time though).

 

The most effective treatment for duckweed is to use an aquatic herbicide called fluridone which is sold under that brand name Whitecap. This chemical works by staying in the water body for an extended period of time, allowing for the plants to uptake it into their nutrient system. Once the chemical has entered the plant, the weed's ability to produce energy through photosynthesis is restricted. If the weeds cannot produce energy, then they can no longer thrive. Fluridone can take 30-45 days to produce results, but this extended period of action allows for the weeds do die off in a more gradual manner. Other contact-style herbicides will kill the weeds quickly and all at once, but this can lead to problems with excess decaying organic material in your pond. It is much healthier for the pond to let the weeds die off gradually.

water garden plants

Duckweed is known to have explosive growth patterns. Given enough nitrogen and phosphorus, it is possible for a new duckweed plant to be produced every 24 hours. This means that in just two weeks a single plant can produce nearly 17,000 offspring! If you notice duckweed in your pond, it is strongly advised that you take action before your pond gets taken over! A duckweed infestation can block the sun's rays from reaching native submerged plants. This causes oxygen depletion in the water because if the submerged plants cannot get sunlight, they die off and begin to decay (decaying organic material leads to oxygen depletion).

 

If your pond is full of duckweed, don't worry! There are options you can take to restore your pond back to the source of enjoyment it once was. Don't dread the return of the Swamp Thing now that you know how to solve this problem.

Would you like to have a tranquil place in the garden where you could sit, relax and contemplate? It may be time to look at the possibility of building a fish pond and stocking it with fish. A garden pond can be easy to construct, be lovely to look at and add value to any home.

 

Designing Your Fish Pond

 

Before you grab a shovel and start digging spend some time evaluating the location of the pond. Does the area get enough sunlight? If you want to grow plants in your pond many of them – water lilies for example – will require sunlight. Do not choose a low-lying location where runoff water from rain or hosing accumulates. Runoff water can easily contaminate a fish pond, causing algal growth and disease in fish. Choose a location that will accommodate seating. There is little point in placing your fish pond in an area of the garden that is inaccessible.

 

Another consideration is overhanging trees. Falling leaves and debris from trees can contaminate the pond or create an unattractive mess in the bottom.

 

Once you've chosen the location the next step is to determine what shape the pond will be. There are several types of liners available to install in your fish pond. One type is a pre-fabricated liner where the shape is already created. This is made from a durable material, and can be placed directly into the ground. More flexible liners can also be used and may be a better choice when a particular shape is desired. They are more like a cloth, and need to be unrolled and placed in the pond and then secured. Underneath both types, an underlay of old rugs or other material should be added to protect the liner from stones or other sharp objects. 

 

Another consideration when building a fish pond is what type of fish would you like to stock in your pond? If you would like to raise Koi fish, the pond needs to be deep enough to allow for these fish. In a Koi pond, the fish will need a depth of at least three feet. However, if you do not have the space or the