Slender Pondweed

Biological Name:

Potamogeton spp. (Slender-Pondweed)

Natural Habitat:

Slender-Pondweed: Wetland areas, North America

Description:

Slender-Pondweed, also known as Potamogeton, is a plant that is native to wetland and riparian areas of North America. It is a perennial herb that can grow up to three feet tall, and it has small, oval-shaped leaves and small, inconspicuous flowers that are typically green or yellow in color. The plant is known for its thin, thread-like stems, and it is often found growing in shallow, muddy waters.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Is pondweed an invasive plant?
A: Curly-leaved Pondweed is a hardy, aggressive non-native invasive plant. The oblong light to dark green leaves are distinctly serrated, wavy, and typically 3” long.
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Q: What are the worst invasive plants?
A: Kudzu. 1/16. Commonly seen vining throughout the southeastern United States, the perennial kudzu originally hails from Asia. … English Ivy. 2/16. … Wisteria. 3/16. … Barberry. 4/16. … Butterfly Bush. 5/16. … Purple Loosestrife. 6/16. … Norway Maple. 7/16. … Japanese Honeysuckle. 8/16.
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Q: Does pondweed produce oxygen?
A: Like other green plants, pond weed can make sugar from carbon dioxide and water. When this happens, oxygen is also made. This oxygen comes out of the plant and can be seen as bubbles in the water around the pond weed. To do this job, the pond weed needs energy.
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Q: How do you control pondweed?
A: American pondweed can be removed by raking or seining it from the pond, but will re-establish from any remaining roots and seeds. Fertilization to produce a phytoplankton or algal “bloom” to prevent the establishment of most bottom rooted aquatic weeds. This also produces a strong food chain for the pond fish.
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Q: What is the most invasive aquatic plant?
A: Invasive Phragmites.Water Soldier.Eurasian Watermilfoil.European Water Chestnut.European Frog-bit.Hydrilla.Fanwort.Flowering Rush.
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Q: What is the purpose of pondweed?
A: Ecological Importance. Sago pondweed is an extremely important aquatic plant in lakes and ponds because of its nutritional value as a food source for birds, including waterfowl (especially diving ducks and swans), marsh birds, and shorebirds.
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Q: How do you get rid of slender pondweed?
A: Sago Pondweed can be removed by raking or seining it from the pond, but will re-establish from any remaining roots and seeds. Fertilization can be used to produce a phytoplankton or algal “bloom” to prevent the establishment of most bottom rooted aquatic weeds. This also produces a strong food chain for the pond fish.
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Q: Should I remove pondweed?
A: A small amount of algae or pondweed is beneficial to ponds, providing food for tadpoles and other water creatures, but too much can block light from submerged plants and prevent them from photosynthesising, reducing oxygen levels in your pond.
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Q: What is another name for pondweed?
A: Potamogeton is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed (Elodea canadensis).
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Q: Which type of plant is pondweed?
A: They belong to two families in the order Alismatales: the Potamogetonaceae (pondweed family) and the Aponogetonaceae (Cape pondweed family), both of which have species that develop submerged or floating leaves but frequently have emergent flowering shoots.
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Q: Where is pondweed found?
A: Aquatic vascular plants are not usually present in the benthos of the rivers, but many species of pondweed, hornwort, watermilfoil, waterweed, cattail, pondlily, and duckweed and a wide variety of rushes and sedges grow in the floodplain wetlands and shallow lakes.
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Q: Does pondweed need light?
A: To do this job, the pond weed needs energy. It gets this from the light which shines on it. Bright light provides more energy than dim light. Red light is more easily used by the pond weed than most other colours.
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Q: What eats sago pondweed?
A: Sago pondweed is one of the most important sources of food for waterfowl in North America. Migratory waterfowl feed on the entire plant, particularly its nutrient-rich seeds and tubers.
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Q: How do I get rid of pondweed in my pond?
A: Duckweed is very small, and thus can be raked, vacuumed, or skimmed from the water’s surface without much effort. Simply adding more aeration to your pond to promote more water movement will also help prevent some floating weeds from being able to establish, as they typically prefer still water.
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Q: Is pondweed good for compost?
A: When the time is up, don’t let the dried-out remains go to waste. Compost it. Old water weed is the best natural compost activator ever and it’s entirely free, so make the most of your natural harvest.
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Q: How do you keep pondweed alive?
A: PondweedPondweedpondweed (countable and uncountable, plural pondweeds) Any of several plants that grow in ponds or similar aquatic conditions: (most commonly) Potamogeton, a diverse and worldwide genus. Elodea, found in North America.en.wiktionary.org › wiki › pondweedpondweed – Wiktionary is best kept in a a constantly aerated tank (just use a simple aquarium pump) filled with tap water located near a window or with a bright lamp (>1200lm). Putting pondweed into cold water straight from the tap may cold shock it so take care to allow water to come to room temperature.
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Q: What kills floating leaf pondweed?
A: Our top recommended products to treat pondweed is Diquat Herbicide. Diquat Herbicide is labeled to control Pondweed (except for Richardsons pondweed) and has shown to do a great job against it. Diquat also carries a wide label so it can kill a large number of other unwanted aquatic weeds you may be dealing with too.
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Q: Can you use RoundUp on pond weeds?
A: RoundUp®, a commonly used glyphosate herbicide is not approved for use in ponds. There are other glyphosate herbicides which are approved for aquatic sites. The difference lies in additional ingredients in RoundUp®, making it more toxic to certain kinds of aquatic life.
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About the author

Samuel is a gardening professional and enthusiast who has spent over 20 years advising homeowners and farm owners on weed identification, prevention and removal. He has an undergraduate degree in plant and soil science from Michigan State University.