Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment What eats Pickerelweed?

I’ve been trying to establish pickerelweed for a couple of years. Deer eat the leaves so I try chicken wire. I don’t think I have muskrats…but do raccoons or turtles eat the rhizomes? I’m about to plant some more over some sunken tree branches in about 2 ft of water, hopefully far enough from the deer. But any suggestions appreciated. Location is rural southern Oklahoma with all kinds of critters

That's odd. I have about 4 good stands of Pickerelweed in my pond that must be 3 years old now and nothing has ever eaten them. We have plenty of deer, racoons, possums, snapping turtles, and crawdads too. I have never seen any muskrats at my pond, however. My PW is growing in 6 to 18 inches of water that is right at the bank and would be easily accessible by deer or racoons.

I think my deer eat everything, including “deer resistant” irises:) in my pickerelweed, some leaves get eaten, then some stems look bitten through, then the rhizomes disappear.

I was gonna go with pickerel.

I have tried several types of plants in my pond and have not found a way to get a certain types established enough to grow more than the critters can eat. Luckily the PW, Thalia Dealbata, and arrowhead must not taste good to the wildlife around my place. I have hopes to establish some lilies in the pond, but the snappers tend to get them at times. They are easy to relocate.

I place thorny honey locust branches over my newly planted plants with good success.

Got plenty of those so I'll give it a try! I just don't know what is eating the rhizomes...

Just be careful handling the branches because the thorns are nasty and seem to harbor microbes that cause a local infection. I like using the honey locust branches because they rot away over time.

I fence everything to keep the turtles and grass carp from eating and rooting them out. The only thing they don't destroy is invasive alligator weed.