Our weather has bee in the 70's here in Jackson, MS. The filter
plants are starting to grow. Good idea! The pond is getting a bit
cloudy (hard to see through) as other bio stuff also starts to grow!

The hyacinth is just starting to make daughter plants.
The celery is growing pretty aggressively.
The parrots feather is gently sticking its tips up.
The anacharis has grown well over the winter.
The irises are about 3' tall and blooming
The duckweed is covering the berm filters entirely. It will get
overshadowed by the hyacinth.

I will try to stick some pics up on our website.

Has anyone got any ideas about good plants to add to the filter
system? We are expecially interested in ones that would work early.

Jim

I overwinter cyperus inside. Then I move it outside with the big roots all
ready to go when it is above freezing. you can think about overwintering
some of the celery too, be sure that is not potted in dirt so it spreads
well. Ingrid

Watercress gets going really early and can be
removed easily, even it rooted in, its roots are
brittle.
I buy mine at the grocery store. It will root upside
down it is so ridiculously easy to grow.

k :-)

On Apr 7, 9:59 am, "drsolo" wrote:
I overwinter cyperus inside. Then I move it outside with the big roots all
ready to go when it is above freezing. you can think about overwintering
some of the celery too, be sure that is not potted in dirt so it spreads
well. Ingrid

Thanks.

Our celery actually does well outside!

Jim

On Sat, 7 Apr 2007 07:41:21 CST, "Phyllis and Jim"
wrote:

Has anyone got any ideas about good plants to add to the filter
system? We are expecially interested in ones that would work early.

I use parrot feather over winter. It grows back right after being
frost bitten to the waterline. Cannas begins to grow at about 40F and
so do cattails. Tall plants though, a bit of a problem when the wind
blows.

Regards,

Hal

From Carol

The first ones to grow here in middle TN, zone 6 are the ones called "penny
creeper" by the woman who have me a handful some years back. They look like
little parasols on a stick. They grow like a vine along the pond's edges,
but in the water. The leaves are about the size of a silver dollar. The
others are the iris and parrots feather. Cat tails also come up early as do
the water "Baby's breath."
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
ISP: Hughes.net
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

On Apr 7, 11:58 am, "Reel McKoi" wrote:
From Carol

The first ones to grow here in middle TN, zone 6 are the ones called "penny
creeper" by the woman who have me a handful some years back. They look like
little parasols on a stick. They grow like a vine along the pond's edges,
but in the water. The leaves are about the size of a silver dollar.

This sounds like Pennywort and yes it grows very fast and overwinters
fairly well. If you give it something to root in it will have a
tendency not to spread as quickly and grow more in one area. If you
just throw it in the water, it will be much more gangly and spread
rapidly. Each new stem starts another little root mass. I have
already been giving away some this year and have more than I want now.
Bill

I have never heard of the penny creeper. I will look on Google to see
if I can find it.

Does it have another name?

Jim

"Phyllis and Jim" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have never heard of the penny creeper. I will look on Google to see
if I can find it.

Does it have another name?

Jim
=========================
I looked it up. It's called "Water Pennywort," family Apiaceae
(Umbellifeae) - the parsley or carrot family and is from Brazil. They may
be from Brazil but they live over through the coldest winters. If they get
a chance they'll also invade the earth around the pond. The koi and
goldfish will not eat them.
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
ISP: Hughes.net
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

On Sat, 7 Apr 2007 14:14:56 CST, "Phyllis and Jim"
wrote:

I have never heard of the penny creeper. I will look on Google to see
if I can find it.

Does it have another name? Jim

I wonder if it isn't Creeping Jenny? The name sure could have been changed
around:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/yqv9vz Creeping Jenny does well in flower
beds or wet areas. I use it in my floating islands. I believe Kathy used it
in her center island. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

On Apr 7, 6:00 pm, ~ jan wrote:
On Sat, 7 Apr 2007 14:14:56 CST, "Phyllis and Jim"

wrote:
I have never heard of the penny creeper. I will look on Google to see
if I can find it.

Does it have another name? Jim

I wonder if it isn't Creeping Jenny? The name sure could have been changed
around:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/yqv9vz Creeping Jenny does well in flower
beds or wet areas. I use it in my floating islands. I believe Kathy used it
in her center island. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds:www.jjspond.us

No pennywort has much fewer leaves and they are considerably larger.
I have had some that got so big they were almost like miniature water
lilies, 3"? Creeping Jenny is another good one, except I think it
just likes it's 'feet wet'.
Bill

right, wet feet. http://weloveteaching.com/mypond/changes/changes2.htm
nummularia is the name and its draping form is seen in the bottom pictures.
Ingrid


Creeping Jenny is another good one, except I think it
just likes it's 'feet wet'.
Bill

"kthirtya" wrote in message
oups.com...
Watercress gets going really early and can be
removed easily, even it rooted in, its roots are
brittle.
I buy mine at the grocery store. It will root upside
down it is so ridiculously easy to grow.

k :-)

Watercress is almost ideal - grows really rapidly even in a settlement tank
with no substrate or in a tank which still has plastic Flocor! Here in the
UK it can go almost dormant during hard winters, but usually restarts growth
very early - I use it in all my filter tanks. We also like to eat
watercress ourselves (much better, fresher and cheaper than supermarket
stuff) and have an almost unlimited supply most of the year - the only
problems can occur with cabbage white butterflie caterpillars and a tiny
beetle (unidentified) which can both devastate the crop. Clearing off the
infected top growth usually encourages regrowth within a couple of days and
the water cleaning action continues virtually unaffected during this period.
Watercress should be cropped frequently to encourage maximum growth - if you
have no other uses it is a very good additive to a compost heap (seems to
work like a natural accelerator).

I also have a mixture of pond iris varieties and Papyrus in the header pond.
The irises make a great show, but are very invasive and require regular
root/tuber pruning to ensure a good flow of water. The papyrus is probably
the best of all in efficiency of nutrient removal, but is a little tender.

Pond plants are a no-go with my Koi - even overturned a large plastic
washing basket (about 3 ft by 2 feet and weghted down with bricks!) we tried
to use to grow water lilies!

Peter
--
Peter & Elizabeth Corser
Leighton Buzzard, UK

Was: Filter plants starting to grow - any new ones to recommend?

On Sun, 8 Apr 2007 10:14:34 CST, "Peter Corser" wrote:

Watercress is almost ideal - grows really rapidly even in a settlement tank
with no substrate or in a tank which still has plastic Flocor! Here in the
UK it can go almost dormant during hard winters, but usually restarts growth
very early - I use it in all my filter tanks. We also like to eat
watercress ourselves (much better, fresher and cheaper than supermarket
stuff) and have an almost unlimited supply most of the year -

Watercress is really high is good stuff also, but I took a bite out of mine
and quickly spit it out, very BITTER. Is that normal? Are there different
kinds of watercress types? Mine started out as a grocery store variety. How
on earth do you eat it, I can't imagine having even a small bit of it in
anything?

Pond plants are a no-go with my Koi - even overturned a large plastic
washing basket (about 3 ft by 2 feet and weghted down with bricks!) we tried
to use to grow water lilies! Peter

Now that's amazing. How big are your koi? ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

I actually like the taste of watercress, even
the supermarket kind which is what we use
when putting it in the pond. None out there
this year as DH doesn't like it to take over
the waterfall. Easy to rip out but marriage
is a compromise...

k :-)