Texas Lake Solutions

Weeds in my pond!

Unfortunately, I often hear this at the wrong time. After the lake or pond has become severely infested, to the point that rowing is no longer rowing, but more like pushing yourself along the surface of the weeds using an oar!

The problem of familiarity.

Part of the problem seems to be that familiarity, which may or may not breed contempt, seems to breed blindness!

If you are used to seeing something every day, you may not notice that it is slowly sinking into an abyss. If you stay away from it for a week or two, you may become aware of these changes the first time you see it again.

Infrequent visits.

The opposite is also true. Many people have ponds or lakes that are weekend places, or family spots that are rarely visited. A month away from a pond or lake that has an invasive weed problem at the wrong time, may mean total infestation!

A way to know.

So, how can you tell if your lake or pond weed situation is getting out of hand even if you see it every day? Measure from a permanent spot on the shore to the edge of the inside of the weeds. This will give you a place to start in determining growth rates.

Enlist a fisherman.

If you have to be away from your property for long periods of time during the active growing season, you might consider enlisting the help of a neighboring fisherman to toss out a lure on your pond every week or so, and let you know of any changes in weed population. If you have any fish in the pond at all, I am sure someone will be willing to help you out!

A better way.

Better yet, do something about it as soon as a problem starts. Take action, or hire someone to take action for you! I know of no other place in the area of property management, horticulture or agriculture where timely treatment can do so much good, and where wasting time can be so costly and devastating!

Shop at Amazon.com!

Classifying aquatic vegetation.

Classifying aquatic vegetation can be a little difficult, but we will try to understand it from a practical, treatment based perspective. Some of these definitions will be a little different from the textbooks, but they are practical for treatment.

Lake and pond vegetation can be classified by type of root system:

• Rooted Plants. Plants with roots extending into the soil.
  

• Floating Plants. Plants which float on the surface of the water without a direct connection to the soil.
  

Anomalies.

Not all types and species fall neatly into one or the other of these categories. Even the floating plants usually have something resembling a root system, and which functions in much the same manner as a root system of a plant which is rooted in the ground, by drawing nutrients from the water rather than the soil. Often, rooted plants can be dislodged, and survive for long periods by floating in nutrient rich waters.

Algae, of the filamentous type, seems rooted, in the most rudimentary way when it begins it’s life at the bottom of the lake or pond, and only rises to the top via the air it produces. Some algae, the planktonic single cells, that are suspended in the water seems to be true floating plant, while such algae types as nitella, and muskgrass ar normally rooted and resemble true complex vascular rooted plants. Obviously , there is nothing written in stone.

Next: Submersed, Emergent, and Floating Plants