Well, it's past spring-time and none of my purchased plants from last year have sprung. I will keep looking for them, but my hope is dwindling. The pond froze over a couple of times last winter. Once, the ice got to be 6 to 8 inches thick for about 3 weeks, but that should be common for my area. I would say that the plants were in about a foot of water, plus or minus, and may have froze the roots. They looked fantastic last year and were expanding nicely, however.
I'm not in this to try and fail and try again, so I will be happy with the natural occurring Broadleaf Arrowhead, Spike Rush, Smartweed, the occasional Chara clump, some cattail that I am keeping a very clos eye on and, of course, moderate amounts of FA. I have been tempted to move some mint from the house landscaping to the pond, but we'll see if I get the gumption. That stuff can go crazy if it likes its environment.
I have found that natural existing native plants do the best and not necessarily the plants that the stores say are native to my area, whether that's land plants or water plants.
