Garden cover for polythene
 

Here's my problem. I have a pond lined in butyl and the butyl liner comes out and over a low bank (about four inches wide and 2 inches high) round the pond. I want to cover the butyl so that it's invisible, but I cannot use any ground cover plants that spread by rooting stolons because if I do that they will eventually pierce the butyl below the water level and drain my pond. Any suggestions for ground cover plants I can use?

Carol

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Garden cover for polythene
 

"Carol" wrote ..

Here's my problem. I have a pond lined in butyl and the butyl liner comes
out and over a low bank (about four inches wide and 2 inches high) round
the pond. I want to cover the butyl so that it's invisible, but I cannot
use any ground cover plants that spread by rooting stolons because if I do
that they will eventually pierce the butyl below the water level and drain
my pond. Any suggestions for ground cover plants I can use?

Butyl rubber is very tough stuff and is not polythene, that is a different
product altogether. The better Butyl is guaranteed for 50 years and is used
for canals etc. Very few plants will pierce it and certainly normal low
growing ground cover stuff won't.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

Garden cover for polythene
 

On Sun, 18 Mar 2012 11:26:47 -0500, "Carol"
wrote:

Here's my problem. I have a pond lined in butyl and the butyl liner comes out and over a low bank (about four inches wide and 2 inches high) round the pond. I want to cover the butyl so that it's invisible, but I cannot use any ground cover plants that spread by rooting stolons because if I do that they will eventually pierce the butyl below the water level and drain my pond. Any suggestions for ground cover plants I can use?

Carol


Your post title says polythene but in the message you say butyl. These
are two very different "fabrics". If the liner is butyl, and a good
quality butyl, then you have more of a planting choice as it's
relatively tough stuff and will tend to turn the soft roots as they
reach it. If it's polythene then it'll be easier for the roots to poke
through it, although polythene doesn't last and the liner as a whole
is probably going to need replacing before roots become a problem.

I take it that on the "land" side you've got the liner going up over a
bank that's 2 inches higher than the surrounding soil level. Is the
bank level on the pond side 2 inches above the water or is the water
level higher than the surrounding ground? This makes a difference
because you're either talking covering one side of the "bank" or need
something that will grow over the bank and down the other side into
the water a bit without rotting on contact with the water.

Do you have planting shelves around the edge of the pond that will
allow you to hide the water-facing side of the bank with in-pond
planting?

And do you have enough liner around the pond to allow you to, for
example, remove the bank and lay the liner out to create a bit of a
bog garden?

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.

Garden cover for polythene
 

"Carol" wrote in message
...
Here's my problem. I have a pond lined in butyl and the butyl liner comes
out and over a low bank (about four inches wide and 2 inches high) round
the pond. I want to cover the butyl so that it's invisible, but I cannot
use any ground cover plants that spread by rooting stolons because if I do
that they will eventually pierce the butyl below the water level and drain
my pond. Any suggestions for ground cover plants I can use?

Carol

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As the others have said Butyl should be fine however, you still need to
cover the edge as it will look better and protect the liner from sunlight
which is bad for it (what ever its made of)

Have a look at capillary matting, cut a strip to cover the exposed liner
then place it round so it goes a bit into the water, because its going to be
wet it will allow ferns and mosses to colonize.

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

Garden cover for polythene
 

It's definitely butyl -- thick, heavy duty butyl that cost me a lot of money -- the title of my post was incorrect. The water level is lower than the surrounding ground, I don't have shelves in the pond but I do have room to make a bog garden -- but I've never liked bog gardens and I don't really want one here.

Carol

On 18 Mar 2012 05:05 PM ,Jake wrote:
On Sun, 18 Mar 2012 11:26:47 -0500, "Carol"
wrote:

Here's my problem. I have a pond lined in butyl and the butyl liner comes out and over a low bank (about four inches wide and 2 inches high) round the pond. I want to cover the butyl so that it's invisible, but I cannot use any ground cover plants that spread by rooting stolons because if I do that they will eventually pierce the butyl below the water level and drain my pond. Any suggestions for ground cover plants I can use?

Carol


Your post title says polythene but in the message you say butyl. These
are two very different "fabrics". If the liner is butyl, and a good
quality butyl, then you have more of a planting choice as it's
relatively tough stuff and will tend to turn the soft roots as they
reach it. If it's polythene then it'll be easier for the roots to poke
through it, although polythene doesn't last and the liner as a whole
is probably going to need replacing before roots become a problem.

I take it that on the "land" side you've got the liner going up over a
bank that's 2 inches higher than the surrounding soil level. Is the
bank level on the pond side 2 inches above the water or is the water
level higher than the surrounding ground? This makes a difference
because you're either talking covering one side of the "bank" or need
something that will grow over the bank and down the other side into
the water a bit without rotting on contact with the water.

Do you have planting shelves around the edge of the pond that will
allow you to hide the water-facing side of the bank with in-pond
planting?

And do you have enough liner around the pond to allow you to, for
example, remove the bank and lay the liner out to create a bit of a
bog garden?

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.


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Garden cover for polythene
 

Oh. Yes. Now I do like the sound of that. I'll get some capillary matting. Thank you.

Carol

On 18 Mar 2012 05:49 PM ,"Charlie Pridham" wrote:

"Carol" wrote in message
...
Here's my problem. I have a pond lined in butyl and the butyl liner comes
out and over a low bank (about four inches wide and 2 inches high) round
the pond. I want to cover the butyl so that it's invisible, but I cannot
use any ground cover plants that spread by rooting stolons because if I do
that they will eventually pierce the butyl below the water level and drain
my pond. Any suggestions for ground cover plants I can use?

Carol

--
Posted by Mimo Usenet Browser v0.2.4
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As the others have said Butyl should be fine however, you still need to
cover the edge as it will look better and protect the liner from sunlight
which is bad for it (what ever its made of)

Have a look at capillary matting, cut a strip to cover the exposed liner
then place it round so it goes a bit into the water, because its going to be
wet it will allow ferns and mosses to colonize.

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk



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