Weed Control

How to Control Aquatic Weed Types and Aquatic Plants

Ponds grow a variety of pond weed types, many of which look similar. The aquatic weed identification information below lists the most common weed types -- including emergent, submerged, and floating weeds -- to help you explore and identify aquatic weeds in your pond or lake.

For those looking for weed control solutions, Lake Restoration has developed all-in-one pond and lake weed control kits that make it unnecessary to identify the type of weeds in your pond. Feel free to use the information below to facilitate your pond weed identification goals, or contact us today to talk to our customer support team about the right control product for your pond or lake.

Need to identify your plant? Click here.

Glossary of Terms

Emergent Weeds

Emergent weeds are rooted to the bottom and either emerge from the water's surface (like cattails or phragmites) or have leaves that float on the water (like lilies or watershield).

Floating Weeds
The two most common types of floating weeds are duckweed and watermeal. Floating weeds are not truly rooted to the bottom. If the floating weeds have roots attached to the bottom (such as water lilies or watershield), then they are actually emergent weeds.

Submerged Weeds
Submerged weeds are plants that grow entirely underwater. There are many different types of submerged weeds and include pondweeds, hydrilla, and milfoil.

Nuisance Algae

Planktonic algae can make the water look cloudy, green, or like paint or oil has been spilled. Filamentous algae starts at the bottom, forming long strands and floats to the top to form mats. Chara and starry stonewort look like submerged plants but are complex algae.

Excess Nutrients

Cloudy or brown water can be caused by excess nutrients which are often from decaying material within the water column.