plants for 1 acre pond

14 years ago

HI ALL:

Last year I contructed a 1 acre pond and am looking for ideas/suggestions for FLOATING plants. It is a stream fed pond so it stays pretty cool even in dead summer the water temp does not exceed 75F. Below are the pond details.

LOCATION: 30 miles south of Albany NY. Zone 5. Exit 21 on the thruway for those who know the area.

Size: 1+acre

Depth: Varying.. 4-6',8-10'& 12-15' in sections.

Pop. trout, orfe, sunfish

I want the foating plants to serve two purposes. One is for asthetics and the other is to provide some shaded areas to keep filamentous algae growth down and some protection for the fish from the herons (I have been told that a shotgun is not an acceptable heron control mechanism).

I want to be careful not to introduce anything that is aggressive/invasive. I don't want them to take over the pond. So... any suggestions???/

Thanx

Mike

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Comments (8)

randywest
14 years ago
I wish I had your property. I'd love to have an acre pond! I have a couple of much smaller earth ponds, and they are real fun to have. You can easily grow pondweed, which will soon take over your pond. Or you can plant pond lilies, which will probably spread much less rapidly. I don't think hyacinths do well in the north at all--they died in my ponds, maybe because I put them in too early in the year, or perhaps because the wind simply blew them onto shore. Duckweed did the same thing to me, although it grows quite well in the area on some ponds. Everything here in my area of W. WA seems to be lilies. Good luck. I also envy your pond depth. I only have 6' of depth.
Randy
afishpond
14 years ago
parrot feather will do great did for also lillys just get the hardy ones
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All the obsession with Canada Geese seems weird...seems like that should be the least of your problems. Yes, if you have a pond you WILL have geese, but that doesn't seem like a big issue. Even small dogs have a decent chance of scaring off Canada Geese. One warning: Ducks have been known to lure dogs far out into the water in the hopes of tiring them out and drowning them. Pros: 1.) Gorgeous Views 2.) Great for birdwatching 3.) Water source in case of Zombie Apocalypse. 4.) Source of "Grey Water" to water your lawn 5.) Fireflies 6.) Natural swimming pool Cons: 1.) Wetland Protection laws may make parts of your land protected wetlands you can't do anything with 2.) Drowning Risk for kids 3.) Mosquitoes 4.) Means high water table...Flooding risks? (The pond could cause flooding it it is near the house and overflows. A bigger concerns is the springs suggest a high water table that could cause flooding. ) Things to Ask: 1.) How much land is a protected wetland? 2.) Does the basement flood? (Look for signs of flooding) 3.) What were the results of a perk test where the house was built? The septic tank? (Maybe do a perk test?) 4.) Any possibility of putting in a well to water the plants during a drought? 5.) Does the pond overflow in the rain? How far? 6.) Any signs of erosion? 7.0 Does the appraisal value reflect unusable wetlands? This post was edited by edlincoln on Tue, Sep 2, 14 at 16:25
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randywest
14 years ago
Herons wiped out all my fish. I've seen both a blue heron and a green heron on my ponds. They are "stealth" predators. When I had a dog, my fish survived. When I no longer had a dog, my fish died. With a pond your size, you might need to provide lots of cover. I went ahead and let some invasive plants in, which may have been a mistake. I'm now thinking of throwing some old stumps back in the water, to provide hiding places. Good luck!
Randy
annedickinson
14 years ago
I live about 60 miles north of Albany.

For free-floaters, water hyacinth and water lettuce do well here once the frost is over, which means June. Another plant that is a floater that works well is azolla (fairy moss). There are others like frog bit, but I've never tried that.

Good luck. A one acre pond sounds delightful.
Anne
sleeplessinftwayne
14 years ago
Check with your local DNR for illegal plants. Maybe they have a list of recommended plants. There are a lot of websites by State Universities with Cooperative Extension Services that have suggestions for maintenance of large ponds but there are not many that name good plants. Sorry, I lost the list when I changed to a new computer. DH neglected to transfer my documents files and my memory is shot since I had surgery. I can't remember specifics of so many things. I vaguely remember Ohio State had a site and I am pretty sure Michigan State did as well but I think there was a phone call involved.
sdavis
14 years ago
Hybrid hardy waterlilies are just about the only game in town for a pond like that, they will cope well with the 4'-6' deep area.

There are different growing habits among the hardies, odorata hybrids are often dumped free or cheap by contractors looking to stick you with a hefty pond clearance bill down the road, those are pondbusters

Any waterlily source worth their salt will have a selection of medium to large Marliac hybrids which are well suited to the task, modest spreading rates, very pleasant bloom to pad ratios

Water hyacinth might work well, if there is a suitable sheltered bay that warms some, those would need to be raked and thinned out when the first frosts scorch them

Those make good winter fodder when left to dry out, if you have grazing critters about
PunkRotten
11 years ago
Water Hyacinth, Water Lettuce, Parrot's Feather, Duckweed --all incredibly invasive.
steiconi
11 years ago
I like mosaic, with tight patterns of red and green leaves. It does fine just floating on my ponds, but I read it's supposed to be rooted in soil.

It grows rapidly here in the tropics, don't know how aggressive it is where you are.

plants for 1 acre pond

Comments (8)

randywest

afishpond

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