Plants for next to my barrel pond

[msm]

I had just come across them online and was thinking that they looked reasonable; was just about to ask if people had had dealings with them!

Thanks,

Matt

[ilia123]

I liked the plantlife link, it has a good section on the plants that you should not buy:

http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/asset...your%20pot.pdf

[msm]

Just thought I would say that I got my delivery from puddleplants today. Great service, quick delivery and fantastically well packed!
Got them in my pond. Will try and get a picture but waiting for soil to settle - i got a little too much in the pond but it is the aquatic stuff so hopefully it will be ok!

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Stevelphoto

What ilia said! Be careful with curly pondweed though - make sure not to accidentally buy canadian pondweed - a very invasive, non-native species which I have seen sold in garden centres!

rubbish.....I have this in my pond and barrel pond its a very good oxygenator and I have never found it invasive in fact when I pull the blanket weed away from it I throw the Canadian pond weed back in..

The newts lay eggs in it too.

[Stevelphoto]

Originally Posted by msm

Just thought I would say that I got my delivery from puddleplants today. Great service, quick delivery and fantastically well packed!
Got them in my pond. Will try and get a picture but waiting for soil to settle - i got a little too much in the pond but it is the aquatic stuff so hopefully it will be ok!

Nice one, glad you got on as well with puddle plants as I did. As for the soil - I did that too with some aquatic compost, I think it was OK in the end once the extra nutrients got used up.

Kayleigh, as for the canadian pondweed - I used to have it in an old pond that leaked - it was invasive. Yep, the newts didn't mind it too much in mine too. But it's not the fact that it's in your pond that's the problem (even if it's invasive, you can cut it back) - it could spread to other, larger water bodies in the area where it could become far more of a problem. That's not a risk I want to be taking when I could just as easily buy some nice, native Hornwort. I have seen canals and waterways choked in canadian pondweed. I doubt that some of the leading bodies on the natural world would be discouraging it's purchase for no reason - go tell them it's rubbish.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Stevelphoto

Nice one, glad you got on as well with puddle plants as I did. As for the soil - I did that too with some aquatic compost, I think it was OK in the end once the extra nutrients got used up.

Kayleigh, as for the canadian pondweed - I used to have it in an old pond that leaked - it was invasive. Yep, the newts didn't mind it too much in mine too. But it's not the fact that it's in your pond that's the problem (even if it's invasive, you can cut it back) - it could spread to other, larger water bodies in the area where it could become far more of a problem. That's not a risk I want to be taking when I could just as easily buy some nice, native Hornwort. I have seen canals and waterways choked in canadian pondweed. I doubt that some of the leading bodies on the natural world would be discouraging it's purchase for no reason - go tell them it's rubbish.

As I have said before in these debates as long as the stuff stays in my pond in my garden that's fine.
Where I live there is no chance of it getting into the waterways I don't get herons.

But I agree with you it should be used with care.

When I dug my pond I went to buy some oxygenators there was NO labels saying they were native or none native or a warning saying invasive it was only after I got a problem with blanket weed that landed me here and I learned what I had in pond.

[msm]

That is what I find as well. Puddle plants were great as they label their native plants, as well as ones that are beneficial to bees!

How much water do you guys loose out of you ponds each day. I only have a barrel pond and put my plants in yesterday. The water level seems to have dropped by a few cm overnight; I am hoping this was just the soil in the pots absorbing the water and causing the level to drop (my pots took about 20L of soil!). When I put the pots in I lost a lot of water from the displacement but this was with the soil drier. I hope I have not put a hole in the liner, guess I just have to keep my eye on it. Can't do anything with it at the moment as I think I have the flu (albeit quite mild)

How do you top up the pond; I dont have a ready supply of rain water so have to resort to tap water sometimes; will this hurt the plants. Also, if any of you have a barrel pond how do you plant your marginals - I have supported my baskets by rope from the edge but was wandering what others did.

Got my first wildlife in the pond as well. Lots and lots of little lave. They are black and float vertically at the top of the water and move by wriggling furiously. I guess they are mozzi lava.

Thanks to everyne for all their help so far, really appreciate it.

Matt

[Stevelphoto]

Don't worry too much - on a warm day, even without too much sun, water can disappear suprisingly fast.
Tap water isn't so good because it contains chlorine - more of a danger to the creatures in it than the plants. Having said that, I have done it before when the water levels have been very low - with no noticeable affect, but I suppose in a smaller barrel pond it may make a bigger difference.
If you don't have something to collect rain water with, I think I remember reading that leaving tap water to stand for a day or two will evaporate the chlorine.
I don't have a barrel pond, but I imagine you could try standing the marginals on some washed stones to one side - would be good to have some different depths in the pond.
As for the larvae, they sound like mosquito larvae - one of the first critters that colonised my pond. They should act as prey for some other species.

[Kayleigh]

Get well soon we have all gone down with swine flu here..
But were on the mend I hope, I have a relapse every now and then and have to go and lie down...

I have put my plants on bricks to higher them and create a shallow part near the top to allow easy access if a hoggy fell in.
I have water butts that catch rain water and when I doesn't rain I fill a butt with tap water and leave it for a few days but this is not ideal but the only way.





This is my barrel I thought I had a recent pic but cant find it so will have to go an take another lol..

[Stevelphoto]

That looks great Kayleigh! I have to say I am suprised to see frogs - is that why the barrel is placed against a ledge (i.e to let them in/out?).