This is my pick list. I think I will order a couple of each, disperse them around the pond and see what likes my pond's environment and what does not. I dabble in plants and trees and have found that there is no sense trying to make something grow where it does not thrive (too much work). What thrives will be manually divided next year and redistributed where the others have not taken. I have chosen the pickerels and dealbatas as my favorites and will get a few extras of those.
White and Blue Pickerel (Pontederia cordata) Sweet Flag Hardy Water Canna (Thalia Dealbata) Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) Common Spikerush Bur-Reed (edit - removed from list) Lizards Tail (Saururus cernuus) Zebra Rush (Scirpus tabernae-montani ‘Zebrinus’) Golden Club (Orontium aquaticum) Tall Royal Blue Pickerel(pickerel dilatata)
My fish stocking plans are to be determined by next spring but it will likely be HBG/RES/HSB or BG/RES/LMB. Either way, my pond does not lend itself to bank fishing much due to steep banks so I don't mind if the emergent plants take over the shoreline. My real concerns lie with submergents that will grow in the 6 foot range. If this were to happen, I would loose a lot of the pond as my pond is only a 1/4 acre and 6 foot deep plant coverage would likely mean that 1/3 to 1/2 of my pond's surface are would be consumed.
So far, this year my pond level has fluctuated about 1 foot below the pipe, but has averaged about 6 inches below. After a 2" rain last night it's 6 inches above the bottom of the pipe, but that will be back down today as my overflow pipe is 15" diameter. I have excess watershed.
Thanks a bunch for everyone's participation in my thread...it has been most helpful. I have attached a panorama of the pond just to show off and show the steep banks where I hope to establish the veggies.
