Since I wasn't sure where to post this, I decided to post it here as it is a general question.We want to plant trees around our new pond (pics have been posted a couple of times) and I am looking for advise.

I am curious as to how far I should plant away from the waters edge? My wife has this dream to see a willow tree at the waters edge. Would there be issues and would it try to spread out like the small willows I have in another location? Also I would be interested in opinions as to types of trees to plant?

Current trees I could relocate are black locust and a few maples (yellow and red). I also was thinking of adding a tulip tree and bradford pear. I want quick growth and color. Plus I would a some pines and or spruce.

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't plant pines next to the water, and the willows
drink a lot of water. The experts will be along shortly with better advise.

Look for trees that like to have their feet wet and DONT plant them on or near the dam or spillway.

I have a willow on the island, and this winter I'm playing George Washington, although with a chainsaw.

The durn thing is spreading seeds all over the pond banks, and I'm pulling up 10 new willow trees every day it seems.

They are supposed to drink a LOT of water.

Just my opinion (and we all know what that is worth). I would NEVER plant a willow tree let alone by the waters edge. They are just a mess dropping branches after every little wind and uses lots of water.

I am in the same place after reworking the north side of my pond and doing alot of thinking about this right now. The area I have to plant is roughly 3/4 acre. My current plan is to keep all trees atleast 30' form the waters edge and 30 to 40' from the spillway. Starting at 30' from the waters edge I am planning on 2/3 red maples and 3 river birches. Next 50 - 60 feet from the water I will have a couple of white oaks that I raised from acrons this year in roottrappers. After that I am finishing it out with one to two rows of Norway spruce or blue spruce or combination there of. The spruce if in 2 rows will be spaced 40' apart and the rows space 20' apart. All of the trees will be alternative in the rows so they don't line up from row to row. I have a layout of this just not here at work so will have to post later.

Bossone, I agree with those opposed to Willows. They are fast growing, but they are a short-lived tree and a maintenance nightmare. Bald Cypress is a tree that loves water if you want to plant trees along the water's edge. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with any oak species. Buy container grown trees for faster start-up if you can water regularly..du

lassig, I was looking at similar plan. Plant 25-30 ft away and start with a red maple, blue spruce, and then a red maple all spaced at 30ft apart. The second row would be spaced 20ft back and would have tulip trees spaced 40ft apart or something similar. I am looking for fast growing. On the other side I would plant some existing black locust (non thorny)and mix in some yellow maples. I wouldn't plant any trees close to the dam/spillway. Then I might mix in some other evergreens to provide some color in the winter.

Another thought was to add some redbud or similar smaller trees later as they need some shade to do well.

I was thinking the same on the redbud. Really nice color in the spring

The reason I was thinking the pear tree is that they have a white bloom in the spring and turns red in the fall. Contrast that with the yellow of the tulip tree and I thinking it would look good.

I think it depends if you mow and maintain the area around your pond, or if you leave it more natural. If its more natural, then willow isn't a maintenance problem. I've started growing weeping willows along the pond and it looks nice for my natural area.




bradford pears are rarely recommended these days, they are said to be invasive, but main problem is that they have weak crotch angles and storm will sooner or later make them fall apart.

Ditto on the Bradfords. I planted a bunch about 10 years ago and already starting to have limbs break off in the wind, etc. I am not in favor of Black (or Honey) Locust. They are very invasive. I had eleven of them on a point near the lake when I moved there. Now I have hundreds and hundreds. I have an active program to spray and kill them, but it is difficult. I am a big fan of Bald Cypress, red and white oak (not black oak) and pecan and hickory.

If I planted Bald Cypress or weaping willow I would not put them near the water. Since I have more runoff than I need I plant these trees in the valleys or draws of the watershed leading to the lake, but away from the lake. I have cut all of the big ones down and used them for firewood.

Bing

Will Bald Cypress intake a lot of water? Does anyone know exactly how much water a Weeping Willow tree will intake? I was planning on planting a couple of the cypress and maybe one weeping willow around front of a 1-2 acre pond.

I guess the size of the tree matters. I was once told that a willow sucks water like a 2 inch pump. I don't know but wouldn't plant one anywhere near a pond. I have to pull up about 100 small ones per year. Common willows are extremely invasive but weeping willows aren't.

Our neighbors had two bradford pears and about 5 years ago, both of them split right down their centers into 3 main leaders after a snowfall. I learned about this inherent weakness in reading about it after they both split. Definitely a good reason to avoid them in my opinion.

Thanks for the information. I see I need to stay away from willows and the bradford pears.

Since lassig raised the bar, I'll post a map here soon outlining what I was thinking.

The locusts i was talking about are the non thorny type. I may have their name wrong.

Here is a overhead view of my property and one of the layout I am toying with.



One of things we wanted to do was leave an open view all the way to the back of the property. The upper right is where most of the water will flow, so we added a pipe and a place where we can cross. This catch basin (or what ever the proper name is) will allow a place to keep dirt from finding it's way into the pond. The plan is to make 2 berms on either side with spruce and ornamental grasses and maybe 2 trees either side of the ditch.

On the right side (North) we will add some trees to add color to that side. The curved bushed area is an idea to place a golf hole, and outline it with bushes.

The left side (South) we will have 2 lines of trees, with some spruce placed closest to the pond for color. The back trees I want to have fast growing, so I'm looking at tulip trees/maples as I've said earlier. Behind that we will plant some prairie grass, grapes, blackberries, etc. Hopefully I can also find a place to plant a few fruit trees.

The bottom toward the house has the dam and another 12 ft deep ditch that will have a foot bridge to cross.

Finally I have a old 3 legged windmill (40ft tall) that is mint condition and is fully functional. I need to find a place for it as it as it is not installed at this point. It will be primarily be used for looks, but I am wondering if it could be used for aeration?



So I'm open for ideas on trees and the windmill. Like I said it is in the idea stage now, but in the next few weeks I need to start planting the trees and grass around the pond.

Bossone, one other note on the Bradford pears. What has been said about their tendency to break in wind, snow ice is true. This is also true of the Willows. Another option & I have several is the Aristocrat variety of pear tree. It has less perpendicular angled limb crotches & so far mine have withstood adverse weather events. Also, the flowers are more "showy" in the spring..du

Thanks... we are going to shy away from the Bradford. Someone suggested a Cleveland Pear, which is to be less likely to break due to wind and ice. I'll check out the ones you suggested as well.

Are they a fast growing tree?

The cultivars you could use in place of Bradford pear are Aristocrat, Cleveland Select, Gelens, and Redspire. They all have a similar form, leaf, and flower to Bradfords. They are all quick growers. The main difference is they have a stronger U shaped junction at the trunk than the Bradford's weak V.

Any other comments regarding the layout and or the use of the old windmill to aerate?

Well the idea stage has all of sudden become the soon to be installed stage. I found a gentleman who installs windmills for a living, so he is going to save me a lot of time and maybe grief. One of our options is to go back and dig a trench 4-5 ft below the water line and install a pipe and run to the location where we are going to install the windmill. From there we connect it to the windmill and then flow the water back to the pond.

So if i do this, what do I need to look out for and how do I seal the area where I put the pipe in the pond so it don't leak?