Ponds and nutrients for plants -- what if plants look like they need more than they're receiving?

[Mmathis]

Wow the root system was massive TM, I wonder if it is mint, I've heard it can be wildly invasive. I hope you got it all out.

I hope I did, too! At least it's contained, if there are any more growing. I know -- it does LOOK like mint, and ACTS like mint, but doesn't SMELL like mint.

There has been this patch of it growing in the backyard for several years -- even before we did the pond. No idea where it came from, it just appeared. I wouldn't let Hubby whack it down because 1) it was tame where it was located, and 2) it has lovely purple flowers in the fall [purple is my favorite color!].

Then, post-pond build [a couple years ago] another GPF member started a thread about ID-ing a mystery plant he had in his yard. Said he put some in his pond and it grew, but changed in appearance [he specifically pointed out the pinkish stems]. His pic of the "garden version" looked like mine, so I decided to experiment and put some in the pond to see if it did what his did. And the rest is history!

The only other difference know about is that my "garden version" gets mostly shade, while the "aquatic version" gets full sun.

 

[tbendl]

That is so strange that it will alter itself based on pond or dirt. Do you still have it in the yard?

 

[pecan]

Very interesting thread! TM, I built our pond with plant shelves thinking I'd have it full of lush green plants. It didn't take long for me to realize that wasn't going to happen. For some reason (I never really thought more about it) my pond plants suffer. Even the plants the fish cant get to seem to barely stay alive.

But, the plants in the bog filters do AMAZING! I just figured the pond was too "clean" to feed the plants, but like you I get string algae in the pond so it has enough nutrients for that. Very odd.

Now I want to remove my liner and dig it down to one solid depth since the plant shelves do me no good anymore.

 

[Mmathis]

That is so strange that it will alter itself based on pond or dirt. Do you still have it in the yard?

Yes, and I am going to do an experiment! I have taken cuttings from this plant and am going to start them in each of these conditions: shade, part-sun, full sun [all 3 of these in soil]; one in gravel in plain water; and the final one, in gravel sitting in the pond [or I might use the bog just so I don't have to worry that it will get knocked over]. It's really hard to believe that THIS is actually the same plant, so we'll see what happens!

 

[michey1st]

The scientific method at work! Love it!

 

[Mmathis]

@tbendl I found that thread -- https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/plant-identification-would-be-nice.9817/#post-130592. It was from July, 2012.

 

[HARO]

Algae, though it IS a plant, has the ability to use ammonia as food, while the higher plants must wait until the ammonia is turned into nitrate before they can use it. So while your algae may be flourishing, it doesn't necessarily mean that there is sufficient fertilizer in the pond to feed your lillies and marginals. A good liquid supplement will help the floaters, while tabs or spikes are great for potted plants.
John

 

[tbendl]

neat thread TM, thanks for sharing it.

 

[MitchM]

Hmmmm...... Thought I'd posted my previous reply, but just saw it sitting there.
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@MitchM I took some pics earlier. The last one is a shot of the gunky algae that's growing in the turtle bog "pools." All of these plants are in the turtle bog which feeds through the pond, but even the pond marginals are pale.

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@Meyer Jordan The invasive plant that I'd planted as "turtle cover," grew so well that I had stuck some in the pond. Likewise, it has grown and turned invasive [among the rock edges]. After I thought about it, I realized that this plant was root-crazy, and such a fast grower.......runners EVERYwhere!! I pulled a bunch of it out as well. Do you think it was "stealing" the nutrients from the other plants?

That looks like iron deficiency to me, TM.

 

[Mmathis]

That looks like iron deficiency to me, TM.

For the moment, I'm going to take the do-nothing approach. Since I just pulled all of that mint-like plant from everywhere [and thinned the forget-me-nots], I want to wait and see if that alone will make a difference -- overall.

Then I'll reevaluate in a week or 2 to see if things have greened up. I'll give the pond a chance to balance on its own.

 

[Mmathis]

PLANT EXPERIMENT

And just in case anyone is interested, I'm trying to figure out the "SHOWCASE" section [with Ian's help] so I can start a "blog" to follow my plant experiment -- mentioned in post #19. If it's about plants, is it called a "plog"?

I've taken cuttings of this plant -- the "garden" version -- and am growing them under different conditions to see if I can reproduce those drastic and very obvious changes -- going from a light green, upright, tame invasive to a sprawling, darker green [with purple stems], VERY aggressive invasive.....

Now, this is what I PREDICT will happen -- it's going to turn out that my memory has totally crapped out on me, and these will end up being 2 very different plants. I won't rule out the possibility that I forgot what I did 2-3 years ago.

 

[Mmathis]

PLANT UPDATE:

It's been a little over a week -- I can't tell much, if any difference. The only plant that might look a tad better is the Water Hibiscus [MJ-type leaf].

Is a week too soon to expect results?

 

[MitchM]

... We were told our pH was too high - we would never grow plants in our pond. (Glad I didn't pay for THAT advice!) We finally got some aquatic plant fertilizer and gave them all a boost - no more problems. Now our plants all do great - too good sometimes. I think that our new pond just didn't have the nutrients that the plants needed to thrive. The fish were smaller so they ate less and therefore produced less waste. Once things started rolling, we've never had an issue since.

Occasionally, as I mentioned, we do give some plants a dose of fertilizer. I grow a few hostas in my bog that sometimes look a little anemic and my irises are sometimes a bit yellow. While they are both still growing great, I like them a bit greener. One shot and they are good for the year.

Lisa, did you ever measure your PH swings (day vs night)?

At higher PH values, heavy metals will oxidize and be less available for plants.
Any existing iron in your pond would have oxidized, so by you adding additional iron, the plants would have an opportunity to take up the iron during periods of lower PH (at night when PH is lowered)

.

 

[MitchM]

PLANT UPDATE:

It's been a little over a week -- I can't tell much, if any difference. The only plant that might look a tad better is the Water Hibiscus [MJ-type leaf].

Is a week too soon to expect results?

I think you should notice any change within a few days.

 

[Mmathis]

@michey1st Just realized I never included the follow-up pix.