The Dangers of Cattails

Before

After

To me there is something nostalgic about cattails, childhood memories of gathering a bouquet of cattails, waiting for them to burst then blowing their feathery seeds through the air.

Perhaps it was this nostalgia that drew my sister beyond reason to add cattails to her little pond. My husband told her not to do it. Yet, she could not resist their allure. I finally conceded that if she would thin them each year, she would probably be safe.

The first year after installing the pond, I returned to California to help her with the thinning. After only one year, it was a huge job. Still she refused to remove them completely from her pond. I admit they were beautiful.

I then did not go back to California for three years (or has it been four?). She had not thinned the cattails as promised; after all remember it was a huge job for the two of us. She had merely pruned them. This pruning did nothing to slow the growth of the root ball. This root ball had completely consumed her entire pond.

I had timed my trip this year to catch another sister in her final week in California. She is not the outdoor gardening type. So, as my sister and I struggled with the pond, she enjoyed some quiet time alone in the house. At least that’s what she thought she would do.

I discovered that if I wedged the handle of the shovel under this huge root ball, it could be lifted in its entirety. Maybe if we just had one more back and one more set of hands we could get that thing out of the pond.

Now I ask you, picture if you will one 50 plus and two 60 plus, big reared, old women battling a big ball of roots that must have weighed no less than 400 pounds. Are you smiling yet? Had you been a fly on the fence, you would have been rolling with laughter.

We fought with that root ball for hours. Even when we got it outside the pond, it caused one of my sisters to fall and injure her finger. It popped so loudly, I thought she had bumped into a pair of rocks and caused them to make that sound. Fearing the finger was broken, we got her ring off immediately. Though it was obvious by the next morning that her finger wasn’t broken, we would have had to make a trip to the emergency room to have the ring cut off had we not gotten it off when we did.

In just three or four years, one little stand of cattails can completely cover a 5x5 pond. The moral of this story is, don’t put cattails in your pond unless you don’t want to have a pond anymore.

Once the monster was removed from the pond, it was no surprise to find there were no fish left in the pond. We made a trip to OSH for a few supplies; pots for new plants, de-chlorinator, that sort of thing. After three days, we went to the pet store for some conditioning fish. We bought a dozen minnows and 13 goldfish. Until last week’s heat wave hit she had lost only one goldfish. She informed me last week that she lost four of the minnows to the heat.

I had hoped to add a new water feature to her yard on this trip. I had visions of sand and surf, combining a new water garden with a surrounding floral garden. Time and energy would not allow for that. However, we did add a new fountain to her patio and bought all new patio furniture and accessories. The prints on her new cushions are very reminiscent of the ‘60s. Cushions, a much safer place to put your nostalgia.

Now for the water loss update I promised. I spent an entire week checking different areas in my ponds to zero in on the problem. As I told you before, I was losing water at the mouth of the river. That was simply caused by settling (and probably a bit of the “short-cutting” across that area). The bigger and more elusive problem, turned out to be a split in a joint in the liner in the waterfall. I replaced that area of liner with new liner and the problem was quickly resolved. When you have an issue with water loss, nine out of ten times, that issue is going to be in the waterfall.

I found the leak on Friday and refilled my pond for the last time Friday evening. It was just in the nick of time. The water had all day Saturday to warm and the fish began spawning on Sunday. More on spawning next time!

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Problems arise on occasion beyond our control. Today, I want to cover a series of unfortunate events, what issues they cause and how to deal with it now.

The Problem: Toward the end of summer, a snapping turtle found his way into my pond. He/she proceeded to “snap” everything he/she could get his/her “teeth” into. The turtle snapped all the greenery floating in and on the pond. Checking with the local conservation department, I learned that snapping turtles love debris and waste. Apparently, he/she was snapping the plants so that the debris became a tasty treat after it rotted and fell to the bottom of the pond. All efforts to get the turtle out of the pond were in vain. Next, the debris began plugging up the pump and filter system. A fear of sharing the pond with the turtle, kept me from reaching into the now murky pond to retrieve the submerged pump. So, the only option left was to unplug the pump.

The next thing in this series to happen is we were called out of town in a hurry. The pond still had not been tended to. To make matters worse, we wound up being gone for several months. This trip took us through the remainder of summer, fall and into the winter months. Normally, the pond would be covered over in preparation for fall and winter. To protect it from leaves and debris that might blow into the pond. The plants should have been set to a greater depth to protect the roots from ice building up around the root system. All of this on top of the damage done by the turtle.

Now that we are home do you have suggestions for what steps I should take to get the pond ready for the next season?

The Solution: Lemony snickets you have a tough problem here! I am afraid I don’t have an easy solution. Your work is truly cut out for you.

First, you will have to wait for warmer weather. You’re going to have to go in there. As soon as the water warms enough that you think you can bear it, you need to pull the pump. Clean the pump to get all the debris out of it and make sure it still works. If the pump still functions, you can set it back into the pond and begin pumping the water out of your pond. You will want to save some of the water. The amount of water will depend on the size of your pond. For my 2000-gallon pond, I would fill three 55-gallon drums almost to the top. For my 200-gallon pond, I would fill two five-gallon buckets. Big difference.

If you have fish in your pond, as the pond empties it will be easier to catch them. Move them to part of the water you have saved. Be careful. Try not to traumatize them any more than you must. Save one container of water with no fish in it.

Once you have harvested the fish and the pond is as empty as possible, unplug the pump and wade on in. Some tools I would employ would be a bucket, an old soft bristle broom and a plastic scoop shovel. Warning! Be careful with that shovel! Keep your eyes open for any rogue fish that might have escaped your view hiding in the muck in the bottom of the pond.

If things go well, you will be able to use the scoop like a dustpan as you muck out the debris from the bottom of the pond. DON’T throw all of the muck away! It makes great compost starter for your gardens. All that fish waste is excellent.

Don’t remove every little bit of the “ingredients” in your pond. Your fish have worked hard to create that beneficial bacteria.

When you have your pond cleaned as much as you can start to refill it. When it is almost full you can add back the water you saved. The one with no fish. Check the water quality of your pond. If you are using a city water source, you will need to remove the chlorine from the water before you put your fish back in your pond. I would also allow as much time as possible for the water temperature to level out.

I think all we can do is hope for the best with your plants. Unless you had some extreme temperatures it is likely that they toughed it out and will survive the abuse. I would not get rid of them yet.

As soon as your fish are swimming happily back in the pond run a hot bath with Lavender Oil and Epson Salts, you’re going to need it.

If you have problems or questions about ponding or water gardens I would love to try and answer them.

A Warm Day by the Pond

I couldn’t resist it. We have had two 70-degree days in a row. I had to uncover the pond and have a peek.

I see a few leaves have managed to make their way into the pond despite the cover. Even though it is quite warm outside the wind is blowing hard and more leaves tumbled across the garden, jumped in for a swim then skated across the pond like tiny sailboats.

I know that while the pump is off for the winter, I should not feed the fish. But, my desire for them to come up to the edge and say hello was too strong. So I broke another rule. Just a single small handful and there they were.

Goliath my biggest koi never disappoints me in his mammoth size. Though I think at this point he may have only added a single inch to his last years 16 inches in length, his diameter is shocking. His large head pokes up out of the pond like a slow moving whale.

The babies from last year have grown more visibly than the larger fish. Most of them were simply dull brown in color last year. There is no sign of a brown or dull goldfish anywhere in the pond.

Another change I noticed was a Butterfly Koi that was steely black and yellow last year, has no sign of yellow and the steel black coloring has changed to a more metallic silver. What once was yellow is now white, giving him the look of highlights.

I see a tiny iris making an appearance on the far side of the water garden. It is the only plant showing visible signs of life. It is a prolific bloomer and will re-bloom from spring, right through summer.

I can see that even with the precautions, I will need to do a little bit of maintenance this year. In addition to the leaves that still managed to find their way into the pond that will have to be removed, some of the border rocks have been knocked loose by critters hoping to find water. It looks as though my filter barrel has settled some, and that will need to be re-leveled for the waterfall to function properly.

I see many oaks on my property are stubbornly hanging on to their leaves. I know those oaks. They will hard-headedly wait for spring to bring new leaves to push them out of the way. This little trick they pull makes raking a moot point for my garden. No matter how much I rake trying to keep the leaves out of the pond, there will still be more hiding, laying in wait for new leaves to force the dead ones to the ground and ultimately into the pond.

A fellow water gardener once told me, “If there is a leaf within 20 miles of the pond, it will find its way in there.”

Now if winter will just get out of the way and let spring move in, I am ready to get wet and dirty and get the pond and gardens ready for summer.

Bio-Filters

Today I intended to write about how to build your own bio-filter. However, I see that another blogger has done a very excellent job of doing just that.

There are a few differences in her filter and mine. I used a 55 gallon drum and lava rocks in addition to the filter medium. My filter medium is three to five air conditioner filters. She used household sponges...very interesting.

Another interesting thing she incorporated, she talks about in Part 2 of her blog on the subject, is she used quilt batting around one of her pumps.

Her instructions are clear and simple. I highly reccommend this system to all my frugal friends who want a good filter system.

You can link to her blog here.

Dreaming Up My Next Project

It is February so that means my ponds have been covered with the tents we built last year after the bottom filled with leaves the previous fall. It means my fish are all swimming or sleeping under a sheet of ice.

But that does not stop me from dreaming up my next water garden project.

I am planning to visit my sister in California in April. She is always eager for my latest ideas for water in and around her gardens. Her yard is great for working the soil. Her sandy soil is so easy to work compared to our clay and rocks in Missouri.

We started simple in her “world of water gardens”. She wasn’t sure she was ready to commit to the effort a pond might take to maintain. So, the first thing we did was put a Japanese Fish Bowl on her patio.

This is the easiest of all ways to add a water garden to your life. Heck, you don’t even need a yard or patio for that, a sunny window will do!

The first stop was Home Depot where she chose her “fish bowl”. The next place we went was to her favorite local garden center that carried pond plants. I chose a nice bunch of Parrot's Feather (Myriophyllum aquatica) while she went for a miniature cattail and a bag of duckweed.

All we had left to do was get her to decide where she wanted it set-up on her patio and set it up. We decided to place it just outside the door; now she could admire it from her dining room, her yard and get a nice close-up look every time she entered or left her house.

We filled it with water, added the plants we had chosen and it was done. Just that easy!

Three days later, I tested the water quality and went to a nearby pet store and got her a fat little Oranda.

He has since moved into the bigger pond we installed on my next visit. But, her Japanese Goldfish Bowl remains the perfect place to quarantine new fish or her ever-growing family of baby goldfish. And it is still a lovely addition to her patio.

So, what am I dreaming up for my next water garden experience? I have visions of sand and surf dancing through my head. I am thinking of an above ground water garden, surrounded by two tiers of a perennial flower garden.

If you have any idea’s you’d like to throw my way…I’ll be listening. Or if you would just like to comment on what you think of my idea’s, I’d love to hear from you.

The picture included is a small pond in my sister's garden.