new plants, what to do with them?

I visited a local farm supply store today and they had a few water plants
left in a nasty tub outside. I paid $1.50 for a medium size clump of water
hyacinth which looks fairly healthy. For another $3.00 I got :

3 bunches of what they said is parrot's feather. One bunch is mostly green,
but verry straggly stems about three feet long with long roots on one end
and tiny new roots along the stems.. The other two bunches are shorter,
mostly brown with green tips, mostly black roots with a couple of new white
ones and small new roots along the stems.

10 tiny waterhyacinths with thick new root growth.

3 large and several small pieces of water lettuce with variable root
condition.

Assorted snails attached to the plants along with something green and
feathery that looks like the "seaweed" my children used to collect from the
swimming area at our local state park. There's a lot of this stuff, with
very very fine foliage.

Some tiny green stuff that I think from looking at pictures is probably
fairy moss., but they said fairy moss would be red. I asked the folks at
the farm store if it was duck weed and they said they don't sell duck weed
(sort of offended by that question they were, made me feel plumb ungrateful)

5 floating plants with lily pad like leaves that are about the size of a
penny, almost heart shaped. I thought the floating heart was larger? It's
not penny wort, I have some of that and it looks different.

So did I waste my $4.50? I really wanted something besides water lilies and
pickeral weed..

How do you plant parrot's feather and water hyacinth? I have a couple of
Helen Nash books, and one of them talks about lead strips in connection with
planting parrot's feather. It also talks about potting the water hyacinth.
I have seen posts here I think that say just to drop them in the pond.
Personally I prefer the BV method but will it work for these plants? I'm
new at this and don't want to make a major mess.

What about the fairy moss? Some places say the fish eat it, some say the
fish don't touch it? Should it be confined to a ring?

I put all of it in a kiddie pool to keep for a while, mostly because I want
to get all the snails off. I had those in an aquarium before--one snail
plus one month equals a million snails and ruined plant life. What else
should I do with the plants before adding them to the pond?

Our state agricultuaral extension service lists all of those plants as
noxious weeds and gives instructions on how to kill them. I want to keep
them alive, but I don't want them to take over the pond either. Which ones
are worst?

Comments and advice appreciated!

Pam wrote sort of offended by that question they were, made me feel plumb
ungrateful

lol! ;-)
Maybe they thought you were a state inspector in disguise.

How about azolla. It starts out green and then turns red.
Pictures are here --
http://images.google.com/images?q=az...=Google+Search

I'd use the modified BV method of planting. Wait until dinner is simmering on
the stove, pour a glass of cold white wine and release plants.

Maybe your almost floating heart might be frogbit.
Pictures
http://images.google.com/images?q=fr...n&btnG=Google+
Search

Some of my frog bog plants (planted in the pond) are on my state thug list and
I can't get rid of them for love or money - tenacious things - I've got
parrot's feather in its third summer in the compost pile. But if you don't live
on a flood plain and you're not going to go dumping them in natural waterways
you should be okay and not become public enemy number one.

Worst offender (and not sure of its criminal status) this year is pennywort. It
just took off after I ripped up the parrot's feather a couple of years ago.
Prize for slowest spreader is miniature horsetail rush. Mini cattails, also
slower than slender cattails and the big boy cattails are fastest which makes
me want to track down a botanist and ask them if by miniaturizing the plant did
they take some of the vigor out of it. (Seems to work the opposite with dogs
though....)

If you've got parrot's feather growing across the top of the water you'll be
fine. It is where the plant can get its roots ahold of something because when
you pull it you leave bits behind. But I've pulled pounds of parrot's feather,
pennywort and watercress out of my deep pond, no problem. The shallower planted
frog bog is another story.


kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

"Pam Gibbs" wrote in message
...
5 floating plants with lily pad like leaves that are about the size of a
penny, almost heart shaped. I thought the floating heart was larger?
It's
not penny wort, I have some of that and it looks different.


That sounds like frogbit to me. Do a Google image search and see if that's
what you've got.



How do you plant parrot's feather and water hyacinth? I have a couple of
Helen Nash books, and one of them talks about lead strips in connection
with
planting parrot's feather. It also talks about potting the water
hyacinth.
I have seen posts here I think that say just to drop them in the pond.
Personally I prefer the BV method but will it work for these plants? I'm
new at this and don't want to make a major mess.


I just let my hyacinths free float, although they all float to the same
place in the pond so I'm going to do the ring thing to keep them where I
want them. But they're doing great.


Lydia

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 16:35:21 -0500, "Pam Gibbs"
wrote:

I visited a local farm supply store today and they had a few water plants
left in a nasty tub outside. I paid $1.50 for a medium size clump of water
hyacinth which looks fairly healthy. For another $3.00 I got :

3 bunches of what they said is parrot's feather. One bunch is mostly green,
but verry straggly stems about three feet long with long roots on one end
and tiny new roots along the stems.. The other two bunches are shorter,
mostly brown with green tips, mostly black roots with a couple of new white
ones and small new roots along the stems.

Break off the green part with about three or four inches of brown,
stick the brown part in some dirt in a pot, leave the green part out.
It grows well. I gave all mine away.

10 tiny waterhyacinths with thick new root growth.

toss them on the water and let them float.

3 large and several small pieces of water lettuce with variable root
condition.

toss them on the water and let them float. Or throw them away. I
haven't developed a liking for them yet. They do grow well.

Assorted snails attached to the plants along with something green and
feathery that looks like the "seaweed" my children used to collect from the
swimming area at our local state park. There's a lot of this stuff, with
very very fine foliage.

Look for pictures of egeria, or cabomba, or hornwort, three likely
suspects

Some tiny green stuff that I think from looking at pictures is probably
fairy moss., but they said fairy moss would be red. I asked the folks at
the farm store if it was duck weed and they said they don't sell duck weed
(sort of offended by that question they were, made me feel plumb ungrateful)

some plants called duckweed are illegal.

5 floating plants with lily pad like leaves that are about the size of a
penny, almost heart shaped. I thought the floating heart was larger? It's
not penny wort, I have some of that and it looks different.

While the leaves should be larger, compare with pictures of nymphoides
and hydrocleys

So did I waste my $4.50? I really wanted something besides water lilies and
pickeral weed..
You got it.


How do you plant parrot's feather and water hyacinth? I have a couple of
Helen Nash books, and one of them talks about lead strips in connection with
planting parrot's feather. It also talks about potting the water hyacinth.
I have seen posts here I think that say just to drop them in the pond.
Personally I prefer the BV method but will it work for these plants? I'm
new at this and don't want to make a major mess.

What about the fairy moss? Some places say the fish eat it, some say the
fish don't touch it? Should it be confined to a ring?

I put all of it in a kiddie pool to keep for a while, mostly because I want
to get all the snails off. I had those in an aquarium before--one snail
plus one month equals a million snails and ruined plant life. What else
should I do with the plants before adding them to the pond?

Our state agricultuaral extension service lists all of those plants as
noxious weeds and gives instructions on how to kill them. I want to keep
them alive, but I don't want them to take over the pond either. Which ones
are worst?

Water hyacynths and water lettuce will take over the surface, but they
can easily be controlled by taking out the excess and composting it.
I hope the pond is small enough that you can access all parts of it.

Comments and advice appreciated!



--

- Charles
-
-does not play well with others

Wouldnt it be a good idea, ecspecially with visible snails to give them a PP
bath, before putting them in the pond.. Ingrid mentioned an alternative
'solution' else as well.
Bill Brister - Austin, Texas


"Charles" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 16:35:21 -0500, "Pam Gibbs"
wrote:

I visited a local farm supply store today and they had a few water plants
left in a nasty tub outside. I paid $1.50 for a medium size clump of
water
hyacinth which looks fairly healthy. For another $3.00 I got :

3 bunches of what they said is parrot's feather. One bunch is mostly
green,
but verry straggly stems about three feet long with long roots on one end
and tiny new roots along the stems.. The other two bunches are shorter,
mostly brown with green tips, mostly black roots with a couple of new
white
ones and small new roots along the stems.

Break off the green part with about three or four inches of brown,
stick the brown part in some dirt in a pot, leave the green part out.
It grows well. I gave all mine away.

10 tiny waterhyacinths with thick new root growth.

toss them on the water and let them float.

3 large and several small pieces of water lettuce with variable root
condition.

toss them on the water and let them float. Or throw them away. I
haven't developed a liking for them yet. They do grow well.

Assorted snails attached to the plants along with something green and
feathery that looks like the "seaweed" my children used to collect from
the
swimming area at our local state park. There's a lot of this stuff, with
very very fine foliage.

Look for pictures of egeria, or cabomba, or hornwort, three likely
suspects

Some tiny green stuff that I think from looking at pictures is probably
fairy moss., but they said fairy moss would be red. I asked the folks at
the farm store if it was duck weed and they said they don't sell duck
weed
(sort of offended by that question they were, made me feel plumb
ungrateful)

some plants called duckweed are illegal.

5 floating plants with lily pad like leaves that are about the size of a
penny, almost heart shaped. I thought the floating heart was larger?
It's
not penny wort, I have some of that and it looks different.

While the leaves should be larger, compare with pictures of nymphoides
and hydrocleys

So did I waste my $4.50? I really wanted something besides water lilies
and
pickeral weed..
You got it.


How do you plant parrot's feather and water hyacinth? I have a couple of
Helen Nash books, and one of them talks about lead strips in connection
with
planting parrot's feather. It also talks about potting the water
hyacinth.
I have seen posts here I think that say just to drop them in the pond.
Personally I prefer the BV method but will it work for these plants? I'm
new at this and don't want to make a major mess.

What about the fairy moss? Some places say the fish eat it, some say the
fish don't touch it? Should it be confined to a ring?

I put all of it in a kiddie pool to keep for a while, mostly because I
want
to get all the snails off. I had those in an aquarium before--one snail
plus one month equals a million snails and ruined plant life. What else
should I do with the plants before adding them to the pond?

Our state agricultuaral extension service lists all of those plants as
noxious weeds and gives instructions on how to kill them. I want to keep
them alive, but I don't want them to take over the pond either. Which
ones
are worst?

Water hyacynths and water lettuce will take over the surface, but they
can easily be controlled by taking out the excess and composting it.
I hope the pond is small enough that you can access all parts of it.

Comments and advice appreciated!



--

- Charles
-
-does not play well with others

Hi Pam:

I have both azola and duckweed growing in my frog pond. The azola grows
best in the sun and the duckweed grows better (or at least better than the
azola) in the shadier end. A couple of times a week I take out a big scoop
and dump into the goldfish pond. After a day or so the duckweed is all
eaten up and just azola left floating on the GF pond. I have heard azola
called fairy moss as well. In warm weather it is a soft moss green, in fall
it turns red.

Hope this helps,
Heather


"Pam Gibbs" wrote in message
...
I visited a local farm supply store today and they had a few water plants
left in a nasty tub outside. I paid $1.50 for a medium size clump of
water
hyacinth which looks fairly healthy. For another $3.00 I got :

3 bunches of what they said is parrot's feather. One bunch is mostly
green,
but verry straggly stems about three feet long with long roots on one end
and tiny new roots along the stems.. The other two bunches are shorter,
mostly brown with green tips, mostly black roots with a couple of new
white
ones and small new roots along the stems.

10 tiny waterhyacinths with thick new root growth.

3 large and several small pieces of water lettuce with variable root
condition.

Assorted snails attached to the plants along with something green and
feathery that looks like the "seaweed" my children used to collect from
the
swimming area at our local state park. There's a lot of this stuff, with
very very fine foliage.

Some tiny green stuff that I think from looking at pictures is probably
fairy moss., but they said fairy moss would be red. I asked the folks at
the farm store if it was duck weed and they said they don't sell duck weed
(sort of offended by that question they were, made me feel plumb
ungrateful)

5 floating plants with lily pad like leaves that are about the size of a
penny, almost heart shaped. I thought the floating heart was larger?
It's
not penny wort, I have some of that and it looks different.

So did I waste my $4.50? I really wanted something besides water lilies
and
pickeral weed..

How do you plant parrot's feather and water hyacinth? I have a couple of
Helen Nash books, and one of them talks about lead strips in connection
with
planting parrot's feather. It also talks about potting the water
hyacinth.
I have seen posts here I think that say just to drop them in the pond.
Personally I prefer the BV method but will it work for these plants? I'm
new at this and don't want to make a major mess.

What about the fairy moss? Some places say the fish eat it, some say the
fish don't touch it? Should it be confined to a ring?

I put all of it in a kiddie pool to keep for a while, mostly because I
want
to get all the snails off. I had those in an aquarium before--one snail
plus one month equals a million snails and ruined plant life. What else
should I do with the plants before adding them to the pond?

Our state agricultuaral extension service lists all of those plants as
noxious weeds and gives instructions on how to kill them. I want to keep
them alive, but I don't want them to take over the pond either. Which
ones
are worst?

Comments and advice appreciated!

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 16:35:21 -0500, "Pam Gibbs" wrote:
I paid $1.50 medium size clump of water
hyacinthFor another $3.00 I got :
3 bunches of what they said is parrot's feather.
10 tiny waterhyacinths with thick new root growth.
3 large and several small pieces of water lettuce
Assorted snails attached "seaweed"
fairy moss.,

Turns red in the fall. I would confine it, when you want to take pictures
of your pond it tends to look very messy on the surface, imo.

5 floating plants with lily pad like leaves
So did I waste my $4.50?

Sounds like you got a steal. The floating plant with lily pad like leaves
may be floating heart or white/yellow snowflake, so google for those.

How do you plant parrot's feather and water hyacinth?

Both float. When I use to have it, I tucked the PF ends under a rock at the
edge.

I put all of it in a kiddie pool to keep for a while, mostly because I want
to get all the snails off.

Potassium Permanganate, dark purple, though the seaweed probably can't take
but a swish thru it. The rest should be floated in it for an hour or 2.
Seems to kill snails, or at least knock them back, doesn't seem to do in
the eggs unfortunately. If you have koi in your pond, you won't have
snails..... at least IN the pond. ;o) PP gets rid of other nasties that can
come on plants.

Our state agricultuaral extension service lists all of those plants as
noxious weeds

That's why I got rid of my PF, everyone was asking for it when they saw
mine, plus it doesn't always look that wonderful. The main thing is, be
responsible, don't let any of the plants float off into natural waterways.
~ jan


(Do you know where your water quality is?)