Catails to water lily

[Fly fishing]

My knowledge about fish and fish pond is highly minimal other than fishing for trout and I doubt that counts. Amazingly enough for two years my pond has been fine chemically and algae even in the heat when I try and control the temp below 80.
My question: I uprooted some catails, "on my property", washed the muck off stuffed them in the rocks. Keeping the dirt on would have turned the pond extremely murky... will they survive like a water lily

 

[mrsclem]

They will probably survive but the roots on cat tails can damage your liner.

 

[Jhn]

Also, to ad to mrsclems post the cattails themselves can take over your pond, and be royal pita to remove…would just toss them if it was me.

 

[j.w]

@Fly fishing

 

[HARO]

Also, to ad to mrsclems post the cattails themselves can take over your pond, and be royal pita to remove…would just toss them if it was me.

I'll second that! Their roots will form a solid mat, grabbing any rocks or whatever, and in my case I had to remove about two square yards of "carpet" to get rid of them. I would go for one of the smaller varieties (from a pond supply or nursery) and contain it in a large, fairly shallow, pot.

They will probably survive but the roots on cat tails can damage your liner.

I've heard that rumour, but never had one penetrate a liner.
John

 

[Fly fishing]

Thanks for all the responses, I didn't think people would respond from their experiences. How about Iris? Are there any that are durable that I can tuck in the rocks without having to put them in pots. I looked on some of the aquatic nursery websites and a lot of them had them being planted in submerged pots

 

[mrsclem]

Iris can grow fast and are hard to remove once they get started so some people keep them in pots. I removed my yellow iris from my bog several years ago. the roots had taken over a large part of the bog. Had to use a bread knife to cut it up!

 

[brokensword]

I've only had issues with yellow flag iris, and even then, not too bad as I kept them in a pot. The plant did overgrow with time and I moved them to a 32 gallon garbage can in my bog. Already divided them in half and will probably do so again next spring. There are some Japanese water iris and they're not nearly so problematic, imo. Look up 'Anne Chowning' for a reall stunner. And of course, Louisiana Gamecock iris.

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

Keeping a cat tail in a pot won't stop the seed tufts from blowing about and spreading, which they'll do with little effort when they start shedding.

I snagged some cat tail (the section that looks like a corn dog) that were starting to fluff up, from a drainage ditch up the road last week as I'd been wanting to add some in a drainage/pond over flow culvert and add around the pond but no one locally sold any so had been keeping an eye out. Having never messed with them before, you can pull the corn dog section out in cotton-like tufts, roll in your hand, pinch it gently, then blow on it and it'll go in the direction of the wind or aim towards the ground or spot you want them. Ideally, water the area first and only try spots that are usually damp or wet.

There might be some horror stories of it's invasive nature, but if you like them, go for it. Worse case you have to remove some.

 

[mrsclem]

I actually purchased some a couple of years ago to plant in the area below the ponds. It was an impossible area to manage. Sunk a small preform pond into the ground and planted. Last year we had 2 catkins. This year there are at least 7 and the plants so far have not spread outside of the preform.

 

[Lisak1]

Are there any that are durable that I can tuck in the rocks without having to put them in pots.

Literally any marginal pond plant can grow directly in the pond without a pot. The purpose of keeping any plant in a pot in the pond is to contain it - hence the reason lilies are potted. You CAN release them, but you may regret it.

I would never plant the wild variety of cattails in a liner pond - we saw a property where they had pierced not only the pond liner but had infiltrated the cement pool that was next to the pond. They are a force of nature. If you want cattails, find the dwarf or dwarf mini varieties that they sell as pond plants. They produce catkins and are much much easier to control.

 

[huckleberryfinn]

cattails will totally take over...very invasive and then ...no way to remove..

 

[brokensword]

if a nuclear bomb ever hits, you can be sure cockroaches, Godzilla, and cattails will still be standing!

 

[Fly fishing]

if a nuclear bomb ever hits, you can be sure cockroaches, Godzilla, and cattails will still be standing!

I needed a good chuckle this morning.

 

[adavisus]

There are aquatic iris evolved to grow with their roots in water, ideal for ponds. Tough as boots in the worst heat, and freeze, here's a few