Replanting Pickerel Rush

[Ax01]

Ok so i'm finishing up my pond and i got some Pickerel Rush from another pond at a bed and breakfast. i didn't realize how big they are and for some of them, their roots are the size of ginger! they were in soil on a plant shelf in a concrete pond previously. i'm wondering if i could put them in a plant basket w/ just pea gravel instead. i think the gravel in a basket would be thicker than the layer i have on my plant shelf and would help them stand up. what would u recommend?

 

[addy1]

I have mine in a old black plant pot from home depot, kitty litter, on a shelf about 18 inches down. I did that to control their spread.

I just cut back the plants for the winter. Some are regrowing.

 

[Lisak1]

Gravel in a basket would work. Or you could use a few small (like softball sized) rocks in a circle and create a "planter". Fill the center with gravel and plant the pickerel. When the plants get rooted you can then move the rocks or leave them - whatever works.

I'd cut those down - leave about 6 or 8 inches of the stems. All the foliage is going to die back anyway and the plant doesn't need to be trying to push energy into the leaves at this point.

 

[Tula]

Wow, nice plants ! I planted pickerel rush this Spring, but it hasn't doe well....hoping it comes back strong next year. @addy1 , do you cut back plants to near the surface of the water and let the roots be? I have a lot of pent wort and water willow. Wondering if I should leave the green taro in the bog, they come back in our garden each year.

 

[GBBUDD]

i put pickerel rush in my moss bog and it did ok the first year but it didn't seem to come back the second year. Then when i was working on the dead pool i had to move alot of the moss bog and to my surprise there was some very thick roots that were growling along the bottom of the bog. i had no idea what it was and kept an eye out and low and behold it was pickeril rush. I believe it is picky about where it will grow if it doesn't have organics it doesn't seem to do well and even go dormant until it gets it

 

[addy1]

@addy1 , do you cut back plants to near the surface of the water and let the roots be?

Once everything starts to die back, I chop it off at the surface. The pickerel rush I cut back to water level, none in the bog. The bog sort of mushes up, when the plants die. I take a rake and rake it out after pulling anything out that just pulls out. I also use this time of year to do a purge of some of the growth, yank root and all and toss. The bog is still green it is slowly dying back. Sometime this month I will do a yank and toss. I need to yank 1/2 of the yellow flag, slow down its spread. No matter how much I pull the bog fills right back up with plants.

The iris I cut off dead then sort of ignore it.

The small ponds, fishless, I basically ignore. Leave the parrots feather etc alone, then in the spring cut back. I leave it for the frogs and critters.

 

[Relic]

I've often thought the yellow flag was a "Federal" plant, because the roots reach out everywhere and seem to touch nearly everything...it is about time to hit it with the Ginsu knife.

 

[Mosfun]

Oh goodness, pickerel rush, my sister had hers on a shelf, it jumped the pot, and eventually took over. She used a pick axe carefully, and wedged it out bit by bit. I brought home one piece with two leaves, and two tendril roots...I'm in SE PA, it was thriving before the frost hit. I like the way it looks, but I know what torture my sis went through.

 

[jenniferva]

My pickerel rush grew over the sides of the pot last season so I want to divide and replant. Is it temperamental when dividing and repotting? Thanks

 

[Mmathis]

My pickerel rush grew over the sides of the pot last season so I want to divide and replant. Is it temperamental when dividing and repotting? Thanks

I’ve never had a problem with it being temperamental. In fact, I have some now that’s bare root and is thriving.

 

[addy1]

I keep mine in a few pots to control its spread.