| Re: Invasive aquatic plants - no legislation?
Hi,
It sounds like floating pennywort. If it is, the best you can do is keep taking it out manually. If you did want to use herbicide (and I'd avoid that if at all possible) most aquatic herbicides are glyphosate based and these aren't very effective against pennywort and if used incorrectly it can make it grow faster! The best herbicide to use is one based on 2-4 D Amine, which go under the brand names of Depitox, Dormone or Ragox. The first thing to do is really identify what you've got and then ask for some advice e.g. from your local Environment Agency Biodiversity Officer because using herbicides can cause big problems for your pond's ecology.
So I'm afraid it's down to just pulling it out. Unfortunately it can regenerate from just a couple of grams of root left in the bank so you must get rid of all of it or as Arnie once said 'I'll be back' (although I don't think it was invasive species he was talking about).
The garden centres selling these species have a lot to answer for. They sell species calling them oxygenating plants, but in reality they're plants which ruin people's ponds and then get out into our rivers and ponds and cause both ecological and economic problems.
Cheers, Chris  |