What would be the best 6 six plants to put in a pond with heavy clay, and will also be used for swimming on 1/3 of it? The area will be 1 acre and the max depth will be 20 feet. I am planning on some lilacs around the edge to attract some flying food.

I don't know if they are the best or not, but in my pond I put Pickerelweed, Arrowhead, Blue Flag Iris, Varigated Sweet Flag, Red Eelgrass & had American Pondweed and Narrow Leaf Pondweed show up by themselves. (My guess is thru goose poop - I had Eurasian Water Milfoil show up that way too.) I used Sonar A.S. last Fall to kill the EWM.

I think that domestic water lilies and pickerelweed are my favorites, and lizards tail, giant burreed, spike rush, and horsetail come next.

A plant I think would be nice for your needs would be the Vals, Corkscrew (Vallisneria americana) http://www.aquariumplants.com/SearchResu...tion=PRODSEARCH

It grows about 6 inches high and fills in nicely like yard grass. This is my second year with it and it is spreading well here in my east central Indiana pond.

I also like the bog type plants of yellow and blue irises.

It really depends on what species you have in your pond.

You should add plant life based on what you need.

For example Golden Shiners require vegetation to spawn correctly.

Grass shrimp require leafy vegetation with small, numerous leaves.

You really have to look at what your goals are, and then make decisions on what is best.

I have tried twice to get corkscrew vallisneria going in 4 different bodies of water on my place with zero success. I think that something likes to eat it.

bald cypress, duck potato, iris, black gum, water lilly, wild rice, smartweeds, cattail, rushes, milkweeds, grey dogwood, arrow arum, button bush, burr reed and thats already 10+, there is more, dont limit it to 6, NA natives only

absolute worst is canary reed, please please please none of that, spray program is about to begin (annual spring rite)

I'd take cattail off of that list, and only use hardy water lilies.