There are many components of a pond that ultimately determine the struggles – and successes – that your pond can face, especially when it comes to treatment. A few of these factors generally include:
Pond slope – The faster the drop off, the better the pond weed control and algae control will be. There is a trade-off, though. The steeper the bank, the more likely severe erosion could occur.
Water depth – The deeper the water in the pond, the less sunlight will reach the bottom of the pond. If pond weeds can’t get enough sunlight, they will grow much slower and sometimes not at all. Once a pond is around 8 to 10 feet deep, the weeds will be less likely to flourish and, if pond dye is added, they usually slow down even more.
Shoreline – The shoreline should not be steep along the edge of the pond. Shoreline emergent weeds can be easily controlled by either mechanical means or chemical means. To keep a nice neat shoreline, it is much easier to keep the area relatively flat going into the pond. This allows you to operate lawn equipment and sprayer equipment efficiently around the shoreline of the pond.
Fish habitat – One huge mistake is purposefully adding submerged growth to provide habitat for fish in the pond. This ultimately gives the plants a foothold, people become busy, and the pond care gets neglected. Boom…weeds everywhere! Provide cover by installing old drain tiles, rocks, larger underwater logs, or other hollow pipe type constructs laid all along the pond bottom. Some people anchor old Christmas trees at the bottom of the pond.
