Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Identifying plants Need help with type of ground cover to plant

Last fall I had my pond dug out and improved, leaving the area around it mostly bare on two sides. I planted a bag of deer food plot I had on hand, just to get something growing, and now have a nice start of mostly annual rye grass which won't last.

I overseeded recently with some red clover, but need to get something going that will hold the soil and spread, becoming a permanent cover. A horticulturalist suggest seeding bluegrass, but I wanted the opinions of this forum.

My 3/4 cre pond is just south of De Kalb, in far NE Texas, planting zone 7B.

Try something like oats, wheat, or rye. With the temperatures we have been having, they should have no problem growing right now. My choice would be oats as it is usually planted at this time of the year.

Yeah, I know I can get those all to grow well, but they are annuals. I have a good stand of annual rye and some mixed brassicas now (from the foodplot mix), but want something permanent. From reading, sounds like bahia grass would be a good choice for NE TX, aggressive, good for erosion control, not unattractive.

Bermuda grass works well for that purpose too. Bermuda grass is around all of our ponds. I would think bahia grass would work too.

Common bermuda. It looks good and is very drought resistant. Will you be able to water it to get it going? Bahia is ugly and starts late.

Unfortunately, it will only get what water comes from the sky. However, the ground is generally damp--it is what I believe is a Susquehanna silty loam--so seed should take off pretty well this spring with any luck.

So Sniper, you would recommend seeding with Bermuda vs. Bahia? All the online reading I/ve been doing points to Bahia--agressive, good for slopes, fast growing...but I'm sure open to someone's opinion who lives in the area.

I have both and the Bermuda is better looking, grows slower, spreads well, is drought tolerant and is readily available. I used a high speed pump (lake water) on the back of the dam to get it going and it took off like a shot. And it survived the drought of 2010-2011. I messed around with ryes in the past and just wasted my time.

Does it make a difference if it gets mowed only rarely--maybe 2-3 times each year?

I hear you. No. Cut it when you can.