Pond Iris Biomass

I wasn’t sure if I should post this in Ponds or Iris so I put it here. This is a picture taken this summer of my Birdbath/Pond. It’s an antique cement birdbath that has a hole that runs through it (think fountain). My son made me a cement well with a pedestal to set my birdbath on. The well is approx 3 ft deep and 5ft wide. The pedestal comes up from the bottom then the birdbath sets on top of that. It’s been fitted with a pump that pushes the water in the well from the bottom thru the pedestal and out the top of the birdbath. Not a big spray it just bubbles up enough to circulate the water into the birdbath over the edge and back into the well. The birds love it. We put pond plants and goldfish in the well. One of the plants is a yellow water iris. Unfortunately it’s not flowering in this picture.

The plants in this pond grow like crazy thanks to the nutrients deposited by the birds. My husband uses the roots from the iris to help keep the pond clear and clean. Every spring he divides the iris and instead of potting it he ties a small piece of it to a blue milk crate. And weights it down with a rock.
At the end of the season it takes both him and my very strong son to get it out of the pond. The crate is completely filled with roots and the mass is just unbelievable.

This picture shows the crate where he started cutting back the roots. He will remove most of them for winter storage.

That species of iris is very vigorous for sure. I have seen it get completely out of hand here so I got rid of it except for one pot. It is pretty when it blooms and usually stays green all winter here.

Loretta

Sounds like something I need...evasive you say? Do you know what kind it is ? My pond is so emply, I put wood stumps and rocks to help fill it.

Betterbloom, I send you some. D-mail me

betterbloom- It may be a banned plant in California, I don't know. The reason I took most of mine out, is that my pond overflows into the drainage area that eventually empties out in wetlands about 1/2 mile away. If any got out and established itself in the wetlands it would take over. In your climate you have lots of options for your pond., especially tropical water lilies or big elephant ears. They can cover a huge area.

Hollyann-No criticism intended, in your climate it is easier to manage because it is not hardy. Down here it does'nt even die back so if you can imagine having it grow year round. My friend has a clump in a large bed by her house that is about 8' feet wide and growing. She is constantly trying to get me to take more. lol

Loretta

If that's a Yellow Flag Iris, be careful where you send it. It is listed as invasive or a noxious weed in at least 5 states, and banned outright in at least three. What this plant has done to waterways in the state of Washington is very sad :(

here's the PlantFiles page http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/666/index.html

Thanks for the warning. That is what I have.

Holly: Thank you so very much but I think I'd better decline your offer. I live on the county's property and the park director knows all these kinds of things....he may not be too happy if I planted something like that here. Darn, I needed something like that!

This message was edited Dec 17, 2006 8:05 AM

There are Japanese Water Iris that might suit your pond, betterbloom, or some of the Louisiana Irises! They are beautiful

Claypa, Could you point us in the right direction? A little help finding them? I'm putting in a much bigger pond in the next year. I have two small ones now the Birdbath/Pond and a box pond that my husband built. It is about 40 X 48 and 2ft deep it sits on the patio. I'll look around and see if I have any good pictures.

Betterbloom, Better safe than sorry. Holly

http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=japanese+water+Iris&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search

http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=Louisiana+Iris&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search

The first one is Japanese Iris, the second one is Louisiana Iris. Some will have links to where to buy them, too.

Iris City Gardens, Lazy S's Farm and Nursery, and Bloomingbulb sell these Irises, and have great ratings in the Garden Watchdog

This message was edited Dec 6, 2006 1:30 PM

Thanks claypa, going there now.......

Holly-I have bought at Iris city and they have beautiful iris and a great selection. The Louisiana multiply very nicely and the blooms are so pretty. How big of a pond are you thinking about? Japanese cannot stay submerged in winter but do like lots of water. I would love to share some with you in the Spring. I have about 25 varieties of each and once established there are more than enought to share.

These are some of mine last spring, many of them came from Iris City gardens.

Loretta



This message was edited Dec 6, 2006 2:19 PM

This is another called Sakura-no Sono

Japanese Iris "Scheherezade" It's an old time one that's been around a while.

Loretta

This is a Louisiana Iris called Charlotte's Tutu. One of my first LI. It is beautiful is'nt it?

Loreta

Shadowgirl, What a wonderfully generous offer your Iris is so beautiful. I probably don’t have anything you would want as a trade but I’m sure we can work out something. My Husband Ric and I have been talking about putting in a pond for more than 20 yrs. When we first started talking about it there wasn’t much out there pretty much before the big pond boom. We needed to get the addition built on the house and put on the patio first. That took quite a few years and then just when we were getting ready to start the pond we noticed that the ground was sinking just where the pond was going to be. We watched it sink for several years waiting for it to finish. It hasn’t sunk anymore for several years now so we think it’s safe to start the pond and bonus we won’t have to do near as much digging the sinkhole is almost 3ft deep in the one area. Holly

There goes Loretta trying to give away all of her plants again.... >grin< ....

Careful, Holly - you'll get a box with a ton of plants in it!

I'd love a box of plants; the pond will be roughly 12 X 30 foot. It will fit between the patio and the bird/bath pond. There will be a small waterfall at one end and a boggy area at the other. I hope to incorporate the two ponds together with plantings. We live on top of a hill and our yard isn’t flat but it doesn’t have a big drop just a gentle incline. Holly

I had/have purchased Carla Goula, Praline Festival, and (given) the yellow flag water one year ago. Don't know if they will make it. One (don't know which, the containers got mixed up) died down to a little 6" nub and is barely alive and another is just the rhizome. I don't understand why mine have not flourished and multiplied.

Claypa, How do I search for info on invasive plants and which states I can send them too? Besides the Yellow Iris, I have Wisteria, Trumpet vine and several other plants that are probably on the Invasive list and shouldn’t be sent out to some areas. Of course those are what I have the most of to trade or give away. Holly

Good question... it's not always easy. This is a good place to start: http://plants.usda.gov/java/noxiousDriver#state
There's all kinds of links there.

You probably know there's an Invasive plant forum here on Dave's Garden. I think gardeners learn about invasive plants before some states get around to aknowledging a problem. It's usually not hard to find out if a plant is invasive, especially after it's too late, but how it's treated varies different places. Most states have lists of plants they're spending money fighting. Here's PA's site: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/wildplant/invasive.aspx There are/were more than 10 of the listed plants in my yard.

Usually a PlantFiles listing will have a mention of invasiveness, too. Sometimes it's just a plant that might crowd other plants in your garden, other times the problem is much more serious

Yes, I have seen some plants marked invasive in the Plant Files. But wasn't sure where else to look. My invasives are for me merely a question of more plants than I need little more weeding and pruning. For someone else it could be a big problem. Thanks for the nudge in the right direction I'll be checking out the Invasive Forum and the links you mentioned. Holly