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Allotment Articles1.
Allotment Articles 2.
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Floating Plants
When summer comes the fish ponds start to warm up nicely. This makes the algae grow more vigorously turning the ponds green. One way to help clear the pond is by putting some floating plants into it. These will cut down the amount of sunlight falling on the water and so inhibit the growth of the algae. Lilies are always the first choice, but they can be expensive and may not always suit the pond if there is moving water in it. True floating plants are an alternative. These are plants whose roots simply trail down from the surface and the plant is free to be blown about the pool.
Duckweed is one such plant that often finds its own way into the pond. This plant should be discouraged, as it will quite quickly smother the surface. It can be killed with certain pond herbicides, or persistent netting will remove it. A variegated form can now sometimes be seen at aquatic retailers that should be slower growing.
Another fast growing tiny leaved plant is Azolla Caroliniana, or Fairy Moss as it is commonly called. If you examine a tiny individual plant it looks like a miniature fern with tiny fronds. This plant is green when growing vigorously, but will turn red under adverse conditions such as cold. Fish will nibble at both of these plants, especially Koi Carp which may keep them in check.
Water chestnuts grow in a similar way to Hyacinths, but these are red foliaged. After flowering these produce an edible seed, or nut which we are all familiar with in Chinese cooking. Water lettuce is another floating plant sometimes to be found, but it is very delicate and not to be recommended as even a cold summers night can be enough to kill them.
A tough native floater is the Water Soldier, or Stratiotes Aloides. These plants have long thin leaves like a Yucea, but they are stronger and spikey. This plant will also throw out offsets that will develop into new plants. The Water Soldier is only suitable for the larger pond because a mature plant can be several feet across. A curious fact about this plant is that when the winter comes, it will sink to the bottom only to float to the surface again in the spring when the water gets warmer.
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