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Pond plants not thriving

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  • SalixGoldSalixGold Posts: 450
    edited June 2023
    The same as Astraeus - Nishikoi Clear Water. I probably needed 0.2 of a teaspoon for my pond but put in lots. I will be cautious using it again.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    It's not a product I've used.
    Consider Cloverleaf if it's something you need to use again, it's completely natural.
    It will turn the water very milky for about 2-3 days then it slowly sinks taking all the algae with it.
    A week or so after the water is clear I run a net over the bottom of the pond (or the parts I can get to) to remove some of the dead algae sludge.
    You can also buy Sludge-buster (e.g. Blagdon) that will help clear the sludge if you wish - I don't use it in my fish pond, but I do use it in my little wildlife pond a few times a year.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Like @Buttercupdays, I've never planted Caltha directly in water. Boggy areas, damp ground, ditches that don't dry out -that's where it's happiest, and will seed around too. 
    I have the white one in this garden, just beside the pond where the ground never fully dries out. It was moved from the smaller pond and just stuck into the clay.  Perfectly happy there. 
    Due to the design and type of pond you have, it's probably not the most suitable plant for you, but if you have a shady damp spot, you could use it there. It needs soil to grow in, in my experience   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited June 2023
    " Analysis leads to paralysis"

     Not enough: Leave it alone, patience, let it achieve a balance.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    @Lyn I've got pond envy! ❤

    So can you use diatomaceous earth in a pond then? 
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    I used Cloverleaf Blanket Answer since last year, but I can't say that's caused my pond problems, or if I've done that somehow. 
  • AstraeusAstraeus Posts: 336
    I used Blanket Answer last year. It didn't do a very effective job of clearing blanketweed. Hence trying Nishikoi this year.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Best thing for blanket weed is a cane twiddled round,  as soon as it warms up and the plants grow bigger the blanket weed will go.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I was doing exactly that for a little while yesterday @Lyn. Perfectly normal for the time of year. 
    If you do that, remember to leave it on the edge to allow anything to crawl back in to the pond. You can then add the remains to the compost bin.

    If you're taking out oxygenators though @Astraeus, that won't really help. If you're concerned about them spreading too much, keep them in a container, and you can then keep an eye on them more easily. Obviously, the ones which float can't really be kept like that, but many others can.  It does take a while for a pond to get established  properly though, and there will always be some variation through the year re plant growth we want to keep and the less desirable types .  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    I have advocated Nishikoi Clear Water in the past and have followed the dosage instructions to the letter. It did a great job of eradicating blanket weed but my pond plants did not flourish. The young plants I put in mostly died - expensive at c. £8 a time - and the water lilies looked feeble with hardly any flowers. Having read the Nishikoi publicity that their product was harmless to pond life, I did not attribute blame there but did seek advice from a pond plant retailer. His advice was clear: do not use the additives.

    This year I have not. Water lily growth has been much stronger with an abundance of blooms and I might try to add some more plants to get the surface coverage of the water up to two thirds. It’s currently about a quarter. I am also tempted to buy algae eating snails but the pond is quite big - 4 metres x 3.5 metres - so I might need a lot of snails (does anyone offer advice here?). I will also buy some oxygenators. In the past they have never flourished and died within a couple of months, possibly due to the blanket weed algicide.

    For removing the algae I have a cheap fishing net with a scoop about the size of an A4 piece of paper. The scoop is quite flat like a plate rather than deep like a bowl making emptying the blanket weed easier. I also have a large bottle brush with an extending aluminium handle for removing the stubborn algae than sticks to the sides. The big challenge is eradicating the blanket weed from the one large floating plant which has flourished. It is entangled around the roots and leaves.

    I’ll try to post a photo later.
    Rutland, England
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