This is the sixth year of my new pond, and the plants have simply taken over! The biggest culprits of my dissatisfaction are the giant irises and the lizard tail. Here's a shot from July, two years ago that shows how bad it was already getting...
The irises on the right side are growing to well over 6 feet tall. You can see the lizard tail right in front of them, just image about 3x as much plant that is as tall as the fence. Of course the fish absolutely love it all because they have so much to hide under during the Summer, but most of the time I can't see them, even when they are swimming in the shallows. Also note that this picture only shows one leg of the pond, and there is very little open water.
I'm thinking my only hope is to start with removing about 3/4 of the lizard tail (can't get rid of it completely, I really love that plant!), and removing all of the giant iris. Then I can take the smaller irises and spread them around that back side, and try to find other plants for the front edges. I used to have a few types of grasses growing in the water as well... I *think* they're still in there, just buried behind everything else.
I found a nice large water lily at a local store yesterday. Got it buried in the sandy bottom, but I just don't think there's going to be enough direct sunlight for it until I clear back some plants. My hyacinths are completely gone, probably for the same reason. I'll probably have to get started clearing out plants this season.
So I guess I'm looking for suggestions on plants again. I'm in zone 5, Winters can get down into the negative-20's but I keep the water flowing all year. I have this fantastic umbrella plant, grows VERY aggressively if you don't contain it, and I might use some of it to frame in the waterfall, however it also gets pretty big -- about 3' tall free-standing, but the leaves get around 5 feet long and hang down into the water. A variety of grasses/rushes would be great, I could plant some along the edge, but does anyone know of some that will grow in at least a foot of water?
If I can get some lilies growing again, that would provide shelter for the fish in the deeper water. I don't want to eliminate their hiding spots and cool shady areas, but I do need to be able to get more sun on the water, and it would be nice to be able to see the pond again from the back side of the yard.
The irises on the right side are growing to well over 6 feet tall. You can see the lizard tail right in front of them, just image about 3x as much plant that is as tall as the fence. Of course the fish absolutely love it all because they have so much to hide under during the Summer, but most of the time I can't see them, even when they are swimming in the shallows. Also note that this picture only shows one leg of the pond, and there is very little open water.
I'm thinking my only hope is to start with removing about 3/4 of the lizard tail (can't get rid of it completely, I really love that plant!), and removing all of the giant iris. Then I can take the smaller irises and spread them around that back side, and try to find other plants for the front edges. I used to have a few types of grasses growing in the water as well... I *think* they're still in there, just buried behind everything else.
I found a nice large water lily at a local store yesterday. Got it buried in the sandy bottom, but I just don't think there's going to be enough direct sunlight for it until I clear back some plants. My hyacinths are completely gone, probably for the same reason. I'll probably have to get started clearing out plants this season.
So I guess I'm looking for suggestions on plants again. I'm in zone 5, Winters can get down into the negative-20's but I keep the water flowing all year. I have this fantastic umbrella plant, grows VERY aggressively if you don't contain it, and I might use some of it to frame in the waterfall, however it also gets pretty big -- about 3' tall free-standing, but the leaves get around 5 feet long and hang down into the water. A variety of grasses/rushes would be great, I could plant some along the edge, but does anyone know of some that will grow in at least a foot of water?
If I can get some lilies growing again, that would provide shelter for the fish in the deeper water. I don't want to eliminate their hiding spots and cool shady areas, but I do need to be able to get more sun on the water, and it would be nice to be able to see the pond again from the back side of the yard.
