Pond Devastation (advice requested )
 

Dear Pond group,
I had gotten my pond set-up really nicely. The plants were good sized,
the fish were happy, the ornaments around the pond were placed where I
wanted them. And then...
This morning I went out there expecting to get my normal relaxing look
at my pond and saw devastation. It looks like a racoon went nuts. The
plants are all trashed. Some of my goldfish were killed. The pump had
to be adjusted. I was depressed. My questions a
1) Can I use pieces of the plants that are left to root the cuttings?
What is the best way to do this? I have rooting hormone and was
thinking about doing this.
2)For plants that have injured leaves, stalks etc, is it better to cut
below the injury and let it regrow from there?
3) How do I keep this from happening again? I am figuring a fence
won't stop a racoon. Are there any smells that deter them?

Thank you for any help that you can offer. This is actually pretty sad
for me since I go out to the pond a lot to relax and enjoy it a lot.

James

JamesG wrote:

This morning I went out there expecting to get my normal relaxing look
at my pond and saw devastation. It looks like a racoon went nuts.

That sucks... you're probably right about it being a raccoon.

plants are all trashed. Some of my goldfish were killed. The pump had
to be adjusted. I was depressed. My questions a
1) Can I use pieces of the plants that are left to root the cuttings?
What is the best way to do this? I have rooting hormone and was
thinking about doing this.

It depends on the plants. I think all the tubers and bulbs - lilies,
lotuses and irises, for instance - will need to grow from the root, so stem
cuttings won't help. otoh, many water plants seem to root from cuttings
really easily. It can't hurt to try. For emergent plants, use the rooting
hormone and plant them in very wet soil in a sunny window. For submerged
plants, I'm not sure what's best.

2)For plants that have injured leaves, stalks etc, is it better to cut
below the injury and let it regrow from there?

Yes.

3) How do I keep this from happening again? I am figuring a fence
won't stop a racoon. Are there any smells that deter them?

Scarecrows (TM) seem to work well for most.

Surprisingly, my vineyard-owning friends find that a two-strand electric
fence works well (strands at 6" & 12"). I keep thinking they'll figure out
how to boost each other over, or drop a branch on it, but it's been working
for years. Of course, an electric fence isn't always a good solution for a
backyard pond.
--
derek

"JamesG" wrote in message
oups.com...
Dear Pond group,
I had gotten my pond set-up really nicely. The plants were good sized,
the fish were happy, the ornaments around the pond were placed where I
wanted them. And then...
This morning I went out there expecting to get my normal relaxing look
at my pond and saw devastation. It looks like a racoon went nuts. The
plants are all trashed. Some of my goldfish were killed. The pump had
to be adjusted. I was depressed.

$ I had a similar thing happen in an unnetted pool - it was the neighbor's
DOG!!! After speaking to him about his insurance he put the dog up.

My questions a
1) Can I use pieces of the plants that are left to root the cuttings?
What is the best way to do this? I have rooting hormone and was
thinking about doing this.

$ What kid of plants are they? Do you know the names? Most should come
back from the roots.

2)For plants that have injured leaves, stalks etc, is it better to cut
below the injury and let it regrow from there?

$ Yes, that's what I did. Broken, torn injured leaves will not heal
themselves.

3) How do I keep this from happening again? I am figuring a fence
won't stop a racoon. Are there any smells that deter them?

$ Are you SURE it's a raccoon? There are things you can do and try - from
netting the pond to one of those water spray contraptions.

Thank you for any help that you can offer. This is actually pretty sad
for me since I go out to the pond a lot to relax and enjoy it a lot.

James

--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." :-)
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"JamesG" wrote in message
oups.com...
Dear Pond group,
I had gotten my pond set-up really nicely. The plants were good sized,
the fish were happy, the ornaments around the pond were placed where I
wanted them. And then...
This morning I went out there expecting to get my normal relaxing look
at my pond and saw devastation. It looks like a racoon went nuts. The
plants are all trashed. Some of my goldfish were killed. The pump had
to be adjusted. I was depressed. My questions a
1) Can I use pieces of the plants that are left to root the cuttings?
What is the best way to do this? I have rooting hormone and was
thinking about doing this.
2)For plants that have injured leaves, stalks etc, is it better to cut
below the injury and let it regrow from there?
3) How do I keep this from happening again? I am figuring a fence
won't stop a racoon. Are there any smells that deter them?

Thank you for any help that you can offer. This is actually pretty sad
for me since I go out to the pond a lot to relax and enjoy it a lot.

James

Netting over the pond should help a lot. You can get it at any pond supply
store.

"George" wrote in message
news:2j3he.78297$c24.7237@attbi_s72...
Netting over the pond should help a lot. You can get it at any pond
supply
store.
==========================
The almost invisible fine black tough-as-nails netting is CHEAPER at Ace
Hardware. :-)))
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE:
"Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." :-)
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Dear Pond group,
I had gotten my pond set-up really nicely. The plants were good sized,
the fish were happy, the ornaments around the pond were placed where I
wanted them. And then...
This morning I went out there expecting to get my normal relaxing look
at my pond and saw devastation. It looks like a racoon went nuts. The
plants are all trashed. Some of my goldfish were killed. The pump had
to be adjusted. I was depressed. My questions a
1) Can I use pieces of the plants that are left to root the cuttings?
What is the best way to do this? I have rooting hormone and was
thinking about doing this.

Root the cuttings in clean (not pond) water.

2)For plants that have injured leaves, stalks etc, is it better to cut
below the injury and let it regrow from there?

Trim off.

3) How do I keep this from happening again? I am figuring a fence
won't stop a racoon. Are there any smells that deter them?

A motion sprinkler http://www.km01.com/gardeninghome.html worked for me,
but my raccoon didn't get a fish dinner reward, he just trashed the pond.
Fido Fence is another idea.

Thank you for any help that you can offer. This is actually pretty sad
for me since I go out to the pond a lot to relax and enjoy it a lot.
James

Sorry this happened, I know the awful feeling. ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

Another option is to borrow or rent a
humane trap from the animal control agency
where you live.

*If* this is just one particular raccoon.

There are two kinds of electric fencing now,
the FiShock Fido Fence and the Pond Guardian,
which lays out over the pond. Enter them into
www.froogle.com and you can compare.

The Scarecrow needs to be anchored, some raccoons
just push it over. Two might be better than one.

If you get a raccoon tangled up in netting, call your
animal control folks, they can inflict a lot of damage
and then there is always the worry about rabies.

good luck! Let us know what you try and how it
works!

kathy :-)
www.blogfromthebog.com

Questions
1) Can I use pieces of the plants that are left to root the cuttings?
What is the best way to do this? I have rooting hormone and was
thinking about doing this.
2)For plants that have injured leaves, stalks etc, is it better to cut
below the injury and let it regrow from there?
3) How do I keep this from happening again? I am figuring a fence
won't stop a racoon. Are there any smells that deter them?

Answers
1) some plants will root from break offs, eg spearwort, parrots feather, others wont, I dont think marsh marigold or lobellia would. There is probably some logic behind what will and what wont but I dont know it. I would only use rooting hormone on terrestial plants not aquatics. Some aquatics will grow roots even if the bits are floating, I generally shove break offs in a pot with some soil in about 6" of water.
2) not sure about, if the stem was badly kinked then I would probably cut at the kink, I dont know if damaged leave will still feed the root system
3) I think I have seen Coyote?? urine suggested but dont know if it works, what about an electric fence?

Well I worked last night until 11 on the pond and the end result was
that the plants were decent after cutting off a lot of injured stems.
I lost my lillies and another cool plant but I hope that they will both
come back from the roots. I am thinking about using a motion activated
sprinkler, right now the pond is all barricaded and I played a radio
there all night. I put a lot of cuttings in water hoping that the will
root, I have nothing to lose except the few seconds it took to put them
in water.
I really appreciate all of your help on this.

Thank you very much,
James