Submerge/Underwater Grass for NC Pond

[TJeep_1999]

I thought it would look great if I could get some underwater grasses on the bottom of my pond. For easy maintenance I opted to go with a liner only bottom (no rocks or gravel) so I'll be planting this in a flat wide container/pot. There is no risk of it becoming a weed since I can just remove the container if it gets out of control.

This would be for an outdoor pond in NC (Zone 7). Pond depth ranges from 18"-24" deep with morning and early afternoon sun, but shaded after 1-2PM. My PH range is pretty high at 7.5+. The ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites all stay at 0. I do have some goldfish, but I'm not worried about them eating the grass... if they do I'm okay with it.

I would like the aquatic grass to remain under 3" tall.

I've been looking at aquarium plants, but it's hard to find anything documented as working well in an outdoor pond for my zone, PH, depth, etc...

I'm hoping some of the plant SME's on this forum might be able to point me in the right direction for a few options that will work for my pond.

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[Hound Heaven]

I'm in zone 7 also and I've had success growing anacharis and hornwort in my pond. Both were loose though in a liner-only pond, no gravel for them to bury themselves in but they seemed to cling loosely to the milk crate that the fish hide in. They tried to root in the water lily tub but I nixed that option. I have not tried any actual grasses and I have no water testing info available.
Eventually I ditched the messy hornwort and now have just a few loose bits of anacharis that seem happy and easier to control. We'll see.

 

[dinm]

I have hornwort, it just sinks to the bottom after some time and stays there. Not bad to look at, I have a bare bottom and it's quite nice. Survived the winter with no problems, I imagine when it heats up it's gonna blow up. I do not think sun really matters for this kind of plant, I think it thrives even in shade, seeing my pond is in shade. And I planted it back in November when it was quite cold, and still is decent amount of cold, it's a tank of a plant.

The baby fish certainly find these submerged plants very useful. And regular fish too, they just get so thick and they like that.

 

[TJeep_1999]

Thank you for the replies.

I already have some anacharis growing in some flat bins filled with gravel, but wanted to get a grass style plant as well. My first choice was dwarf hair grass, but it sounds like it might not be very hardy. My new current front runners are dwarf sagittaria or dwarf chain sword. Not sure why they aren't used more often in ponds as both are native plants, but I'm not able to find much info on them being used in outdoor ponds. If I'm able to find either locally I'll post here with results as it appears grasses aren't typically being used in outdoor ponds so there isn't a lot of info out there on them.

 

[JRS]

I was thinking about trying Vallisneria americana from my aquarium in the pond; grows local in our lakes Does much better in my aquariums than Sag and chain swords.

Vallisneria in ponds?

Just wondering if I would be likely to be able to transition some of my Vallisneria from my nice cosy aquarium to my, not so cosy, pond without it dying of shock!! If so, any ideas on the best way to go about it?

www.ukaps.org

 

[TJeep_1999]

I was thinking about trying Vallisneria americana from my aquarium in the pond; grows local in our lakes Does much better in my aquariums than Sag and chain swords.

Vallisneria in ponds?

Just wondering if I would be likely to be able to transition some of my Vallisneria from my nice cosy aquarium to my, not so cosy, pond without it dying of shock!! If so, any ideas on the best way to go about it?

www.ukaps.org

I did look at Vallisneria, but it's a bit tall for my pond. It does appear to be pretty bombproof though. I will see if I can find a dwarf variety of it. Thank you!

 

[Jhn]

I grow vallisneria in my ponds, it does great. Doubt it is to tall for your pond, it doesn’t grow any taller than anacharis or hornwort. All that stuff will grow right out of the pot you have It in and across the bottom of the pond, no big deal though as all are easy to remove. Winters over fine here in zone 7 in MD.

Also, keep in mind tropical (aquarium plants) can be grown in your pond, just have to add them when the water is warm enough and just treat them as an annual.

 

[Mmathis]

I have had luck with Vallisneria (can look for different varieties for a shorter one). I made a DIY “base” that I wove the roots through. It’s weighted so stays on the bottom, and is removable. Once the roots get going, they will grab onto the stuff that grows on the liner.

 

[dinm]

I grow vallisneria in my ponds, it does great. Doubt it is to tall for your pond, it doesn’t grow any taller than anacharis or hornwort. All that stuff will grow right out of the pot you have It in and across the bottom of the pond, no big deal though as all are easy to remove. Winters over fine here in zone 7 in MD.

Also, keep in mind tropical (aquarium plants) can be grown in your pond, just have to add them when the water is warm enough and just treat them as an annual.

That's a great idea. I've often thought about how it would be to grow some exotic aquarium plants in a pond in summer. Gotta try this year

 

[TJeep_1999]

I went by the LFS yesterday and picked up some dwarf chain sword and sagittaria. Unfortunately they didn't have any Vallisneria otherwise I would have tried all three to see which one does the best. I'm going to get them planted today and I'll try to remember to post back here on how well (or not) they do.

 

[dinm]

I went by the LFS yesterday and picked up some dwarf chain sword and sagittaria. Unfortunately they didn't have any Vallisneria otherwise I would have tried all three to see which one does the best. I'm going to get them planted today and I'll try to remember to post back here on how well (or not) they do.

may be a bit too early for me, although spring's pretty much here, i planted 2 umbrella sedges, now these apparently can take some beating from frost. though i havent had any frost this month, officially the last frost date is somewhere around april 4-5.