Bog plant getting burned by sun

[woollybear]

About a week ago I put some blue moneywort (Lindernia grandiflora) in my fountain pond. My pond has a bird bath that had really bad string algae growth so I cleaned it out and added this plant to help prevent that from occurring again. I'm using fabric pots and the pond plant media by API and the plants roots are submerged in 3". I noticed their stems are getting burnt and turning kind of red. Some of the leaves are wilting as well. They're in direct sunlight most of the day and it's going to heat up to 100°F this weekend.

Should I cover them up w/ some temporary shade until they're established in the pond more? Or should I keep them exposed to the sun light and see if they adapt to it? Any one have experience w/ this plant and can give me some advice? I really like this plant and want it to do well. This is my first time adding plants to my pond so I don't have a lot of experience w/ them.

 

[Panzer13]

I could be wrong but I am understanding that the roots of the plant are below the surface of the water. This plant is a ground cover used on the edges of ponds. If it is submerged it is literally drowning. They do prefer shade as well.

 

[mrsclem]

Agree with Panzer13, directions say well drained soil.

 

[woollybear]

Ok, thank you! I was reading that it could be planted both ways. I got the idea to use these plants from a youtube video where he just submerged the roots of the plants and it grew out fine. Guess it's not working out for me so I'll have to move them and try a different plant.

Do you think creeping jenny would fair better? Or do you have any recommendations for a low growing bog plant that would do well in these conditions?

 

[mrsclem]

Creeping jenny is fine planted in a bog. It stays low and spreads nicely. Just started it in my bog.

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome @woollybear ! Can you show us a picture of what your pond looks like? That will help as we try to recommend plants that might work!

 

[woollybear]

@Lisak1 hi, thank you!

Yeah sure, it's not a standard pond! It came w/ the house and we've just had goldfish in there ever since I was little. My fountain pond is about 400 gallons and has a bird bath on top that gets really gross and causes string algae to cascade down into the pond w/ the water. I had to get in last week to clean off all the string algae that was on it and empty out the bird bath because it had a lot of string algae and build up of debris. I wanted to turn it into a kind of bog filter since it's about 3" deep in water when my pump is running to help prevent string algae. I thought a creeping plant would look nice coming down instead of string algae and would be easier to manage so I don't have to climb up there all the time. I have four small fabric pots (~6" deep) up there that I removed my blue moneywort from, but ideally I'd like to fill them w/ a low growing plant that likes moving water.

In the pond I have hornwort, ancharis, val, bacopa, 4 water lilies, azolla, salvinia, and RRF. I did order some red stemmed parrots feather to put in the pond, but I'm waiting on that. I'm at home for the time being while I look for a job out of college so I want to make sure the pond is good before I go. I have a stable pH range of 8.0-8.3 and my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates are at 0. I've just been having a string algae problem in the pond where it grows really long so that's why I've been experimenting w/ plants. Think it's the combination of the phosphate levels in our tap water ~0.25 ppm and the direct sun our pond gets. I didn't know much about proper pond maintenance until now so any advice is welcome!

 

[Lisak1]

You are right! That is definitely not a standard pond!

If you keep the gravel high enough in those bags so the plants are just in the damp gravel and not actually sitting under water, lots of things would work - even your moneywort. Essentially the point is to use the bird bath to keep the gravel moist. Your parrot's feather would work, creeping jenny, any of the bacopa family would work... experiment and see what works best. You may even try some upright flowering annuals like impatiens in the middle of your pots to give you some color - that would be very pretty! Any plant that enjoys damp growing conditions should do well.

(I see now that you used a pond plant media in the bags - that may be fine, but you may also find that pea gravel works better. The aquatic media may keep some plants wetter than they would like to be.)

 

[woollybear]

I thought something like impatiens or forget-me-nots would look really pretty too! I couldn't find any at the nursery I went to yesterday. I found some creeping jenny, but I'm letting them adjust to full sun and gradually raising the water level for their roots before I put them up there.

I'll look into getting some pea gravel and raising the gravel level! Thank you so much for the advice! Hoping it'll work out cause ever since I put the pots up there we have less starlings coming to bathe and more hummingbirds and finches visiting!!

 

[addy1]

Welcome! I just put in plants and see how they do.

 

[Lisak1]

@woollybear - you may have trouble finding impatiens. In some areas of the country, they aren't shipping because of a type of fungus that is wiping them all out. Look for Sunpatiens or even New Guinea impatiens - they aren't affected by the fungus and will work just as well.

 

[woollybear]

@addy1 thank you for the welcome! Haha I do want to put them in but I want to be more careful and not shock them too much. Think I'll put them in next week w/ my water change.

@Lisak1 aw that's stinks. I'll see if I can find those others. I do like your idea of using bacopa though, I have both moneywort and lemon bacopa submerged in my pond and they're doing really well. I like the blue flowers lemon bacopa gets when emersed.

 

[woollybear]

would either of these be ok to use as pea gravel?

home depot: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-0-5-cu-ft-Pea-Pebbles-54255/202523000
lowes: https://www.lowes.com/pd/0-5-cu-ft-Brown-Pea-Pebbles/3687326

 

[mrsclem]

Both ok choices.

 

[woollybear]

@mrsclem thank you for the confirmation!