I have three ponds and I consequently have a never-ending surplus of Parrot Feather. I was wondering whether I could use it as mulch in the flower beds after drying it out in the sun. Those clumps and long ropes are pliable enough to serve nicely as weed-blocking mulch between plants, but will they regenerate on land? The last thing I want is a surplus inside and outside the ponds.

I don't have an answer, but the title of this thread caught my eye. Thought you wanted to use feathers off parrots for mulch What can I say "Gray moment" here

Imagine having that many parrots.

In my opinion anything organic can be mulch. Some of it is not especially attractive and some sheds water too readily - a possible problem with real feathers. What is it like once dry?

I would dry it out and go for it but only in one area to see if it starts growing from when you water your plants. If it doesn't, you'll have lots of free mulch

It's hard to describe and I can't find any photos of it when it's dry. It dries as long ropes that clump together nicely and can be torn apart easily. I'm just worried that it could come back to life when I water the flowerbeds. I'm hoping it can only be vigorous when it's growing in water.

We cross-posted, Vic, but I think that's what I'll do. We're in the middle of a heat wave now, so it should dry out nicely after I pull it out of the ponds.

I found one reference to it being used as a mulch in an orchard forum. The poster loved it and used it around kiwis. They did not say weather it was dried first or not, but I am reasonably sure would be ok either way but surely, once dried.

Thanks, Jay. That's just what I wanted to hear.

Some people use seaweed, so why not. At least there is no salt problem with your aquatic plant.

I must admit, I too first thought the post was about real parrots.

greene said:Some people use seaweed, so why not. At least there is no salt problem with your aquatic plant.

I must admit, I too first thought the post was about real parrots.

I think the problem here is not weather it is safe to use around other plants, but rather if it would start growing in the new location. Parrot Feather is very prolific and is difficult to eradicate once established.

I was hoping that it's only prolific if it's grown in water.

Probably only water or maybe very wet soil.

I use our pond algae as mulch, but I know for certain that it can't grow outside of a water habitat.

I did find this, however:

"Because of its capability of establishing itself in wet soil above the water..." http://plantsrescue.com/catego...

I'd be as certain as I could be that it was truly dead first.

Thanks for this new information. I will kill it as much as I can, Chelle. This is amazing, though: It actually can be grown in soil in containers. I'll be using it in clumps above the ground as mulch, so it should be easy to remove and discard the clumps if they suddenly show signs of life.

Perhaps the rejects could still be composted?

That's my plan, Porkpal. Anything that starts to grow will be dumped into the compost heap and will be taken care of that way.