Need to Identify these plants

[pond nut]

Maybe someone can help me ID these plants..

One has been very difficult to grow & multiply, but finally and 5 yrs I am getting better.. For sure,  it does not like cold weather..


The other is very aggressive and must be kept under wraps or it will take over my pond.. Very easy to start new plants and it seems that those stringy type algeas do not like it at all.. That's good.


Need to put a plant name to these--Any one recognize them by name?

Thanks..

[miguynmkoi]

I like that first plant's flowers but I have no idea as to the id.  The second one is definitely a taro plant, aka as an elephant ear.  There are many varieties of taros.  It almost looks like yours is dark leaf and if the stem is a dark purple it may even be a Black Magic.  Very dramatic.

[Kittyzee]

I've seen the first one and I'll bet someone here knows what it is; especially those who raise and ship pond plants. 

The second one is as Annette says, a taro.  Looks like the one my daughter had this year:  Elephant leaf taro.  They love lots of water and do well IN the pond and do better in the shade.  They also are very sensitive to cold weather and are considered tropical I think.  Up here we cut the leaves off and let the bulb sit for a while and then dig it up and store it for the winter or it would turn to mush.   

[Rad Michelle]

i believe that taro is called imperial taro

[pond nut]

Wow,

What a great site.. Yes, I think it is an Imperial Taro as I found a couple of sites with some pics.. I took another look, and some of the stocks are dark, but it matches the Imperial really close.  I guess if things got really tough, I could even eat it (POI)..............

--THANK YOU ALL..

I added a couple more pics of my mysterious plant that is extemely aggressive.. Kinda like a water bamboo as it sends out shoots with puppies all over my pond.. It also has a very distinctive smell-- not bad, not good, just very "GRASSY" for lack of a better way to describe it.. It grows very fast in the summer and did not set back in our mild S. Calif  winter (but did stop growing),  and will grow free floating too (but stays much smaller leaved).. Basically,  it's very hard to kill, even in my compost pile where 75+% of it ended up this summer..It even tried to take root there !!


Thanks again and if I get the opportunity to share anything I have learned in my 40 yrs of ponding, I will do my best to help..  I'm pretty good at maintaining crystal clear water that "sparkles" much of the time, and understand what it takes to keep a way over-stocked pond alive even in the warmer months.. It can be a real challenge,  especially if you go on vacation..


Tony

[small fish]

Hey, your fish looks very nice too.. we need more pics of the pond!!! love looking at others pond 

Myra

[miguynmkoi]

Hey Tony, where in SoCal are you!?!  There are a bunch of us here in OC plus many more in LA.  Our fearless leader, Jerry, is in Northridge.

[pond nut]

I'm in Ventura.. Not to hot, not to cold with just enough coastal influence to have a good amount of June gloom weather year around to keep all just right....My wife hates it but I've always thought of it as the balancing factor between too hot and too cold.

Tony

[miguynmkoi]

  Wonderful!  I think we have a member up that way....can't think of his name right now but a very nice ponder I met at Jerry's house for AP event.  Having memory burps.....

[Indiana Karen]

I don't know what your mystery plant is.........but I like it. 

Like your pond too.  Nice brickwork and beautiful fishes. 

Karen

[Jerry]

Ventura county has an ideal climate for plants!  Beats ours to heck!
There are King Palms on the way into Santa Barbara.  Very happy!  They get burnt fronds in the interior valleys

[tranquility]

First one is Yerba Mensa--it does take a while for it to establish but, once it does then it goes wild....mine jumps out of my pools and spreads all over the greenhouse floor...its actually a herb that likes wet feet/dry ankles.....it is supposed to overwinter here but, I haven't had any luck getting it to so I leave it in the gh....
Lawanna