Question:
Suggestiions for aquatic plants, zone 6, that will help clean water in a rain runoff watershed.?
penquin44240
16 years ago
I live in a rental unit and I am concerned about the watershed at the rear of the property owners property. Crazy, huh? Anyway, I have seen several programs on Planet Green channel where both scientists, biologists, and gardeners take an interest in our water quality by utilizing aquatic plant life to clean and regenerate toxic water to enable ecosystems better survivability. This may be a difficult question for this forum, but its worth a try.
Four answers:
samcorrea
16 years ago
Cat tails and Equisetum are fantastic at cleaning water in bogs and marshes. Equisetum will actually trap heavy metals in its tissue and cat tails are another common and fantastic species that are used to filter bacteria and toxins out of contaminated water. It is common for people to plant these species in areas such as septic leach fields or roadsides. Both species should thrive in Zone 6.
Mathew W
16 years ago
Not crazy at all.



Just about any aquatic plant will work. Most aquatic plants grow very quickly, trapping nutrients and soil and keeping them from running downstream.



The question is why aren't there native aquatic plants already present?



Is the water moving too fast, is there no sunlight? Birds do a good job of spreading aquatic plant seeds, so you should ask yourself why none are growing here.



I would visit similar, less disturbed sites and see what grows there- preferably on the same creek. See what grows where, and get a sense of why. That will be your source of transplant material. You don't need much- aquatic plants grow fast.



It sounds like you might be talking about an infiltration pond, built to catch runoff and let it soak into the soil, or overflow into a pipe in case of a storm. Those aren't exactly a natural environment- the rain floods quickly in from the roofs and pavement, then it dries out. The water level fluctuates too much for plants to grow in the soil, and floating plants could clog the storm drain and cause a flood.
ieatglue88
16 years ago
hey thanks for being a queer when answering my laptop questing on overheating I didnt know you would need to know tons of information to be able to correctly answer me ... I mean isnt the only thing you need to know that it gets too hot and needs to be kept cooler wtf does it matter what im doing on it if its getting hot its getting hot what information do you really need im not asking for a specific answer just general tips on keeping it cool
sammi
16 years ago
try water lettuce


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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