Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Establishing shoreline grass/cover quickly?

Michigan pond renovation in progress. Once the shoreline is final graded, I want to establish some grass/cover quickly to build a buffer and control erosion. I am having a hard time finding local information or seed suppliers to advise me.

I contacted the premier turfgrass supplier in the area. He recommended their highway roadside mix which is used by MDOT:

Highway Roadside
50% PER. RYEGRASS
35% CR. RED FESCUE
15% KY. BLUEGRASS

Is this a good choice for a pond?

During excavation of the old pond, much shoreline weeds, brush, and woody debris were knocked down and buried in the loamy/peat spoils. These spoils will be graded as the new shoreline. I think there will be a ton of sticks to remove for finish grading. Is it likely that the old plants will re-emerge after being buried? Here are some before and after photos.

Knobber,

Congrats on the pond renovation!

Some woody plants certainly can re-grow after lots of damage to the trunk and growth that was above ground. However, I don't think they should be a problem in your situation.

The forbs and grasses that were on your shoreline almost certainly did leave abundant seeds in your spoils. These will definitely try to re-grow!

Your plantings around the pond have two separate but related goals. First, quickly create a ground cover to resist erosion. Secondly, what vegetation you desire around your pond for the long term.

I am not an expert on erosion control, but I would think that the MDOT grass mix is fairly optimized exactly for erosion control! Further, a good grass turf is your first line of protection against the pre-renovation plants re-growing. It is hard for weeds to grow through solid grass turf that is stealing all of the sunlight and soil moisture.

If you do not like the look or maintenance of the MDOT grass blend after a year or two, then you can start altering it for your final vegetative cover.

P.S. Are you familiar with your local NRCS agent? If you have a good one, he might be able to give you some actual expert advice. Further, if you say the grass seed is for an erosion control project, they might subsidize the project or have a program where you purchase the grass seed at a discount.

Thanks, FishinRod! Yes, first goal is quick ground cover for erosion and runoff control. After that, I will think about the long term look and functionality of the shoreline.

Thanks for the NRCS tip. I will investigate.