My 1/3 acre pond was overcome with algae until a couple of years ago when chara showed up, followed by curly leaf pond weed. I went from massive labor keeping the algae under control to mostly sitting on the dock drinking whisky in the evenings! The curly leaf pond weed was relatively well behaved until recently when it seems to have gained some kine of critical mass, now it's starting to take over.

I don't want to go back to endless algae raking so I need to find something to replace the chara and curly leaf. Like the OP I would really appreciate advice on what to plant and where to source it. Everyone in my neck of the woods that has a pond seems to prefer chemicals, no one is using plants or even attempting to create an ecosystem.

I am located in the NW corner of Montana, however, my surface temp is already 70F. I'm stocked with rainbow trout.