Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Switchgrass and other wildlife grasses

Thanks for all the suggestions. My 5 1/2 acres around my pond is pretty much set up for wild life and maybe I should keep the blackberry patch. I'll have to give this some thought.

Esshup
Switchgrass screen is a good idea, CaveInRock is pretty good, I think Kanlow is even better. You can plant strips of both is really good. Deer get real confortable with these switchgrass screens i am sure you will be too

Just brought up this old thread on my search of "big bluestem".
My question is this: Could a deeply rooted native grass(I'm in IA), such as switch grass, cause a problem on a newly constructed dam/dike? I dont want any disturbance of the clay liner. My original plan was to plant a lawn mix to mow on the entire dam but now I'm thinking possibly only doing that on the crown and then planting switch grass on the slope and area immediately below/surrounding the dam. I'm just concerned with the deep roots causing leakage issues, should I be worried?

Great question! I have Indian and Little Bluestem all over my place, and have seen it growing on many pond dams in my time and have never heard of the roots causing any type of fissures - but that certainly doesn't mean it's not a potential problem. I'd say with 99.9% certainty you are fine, and bluestem or switch are both fine choices IMO.

Cottonwoods and Willows are what I combat all year. I keep glyphosate on my ATV at all times and nail all thistles I see and all willows and cottonwoods I see within 50 ft of my pond. Willows and Cottonwoods are invasive and will drink hundreds of gallons of water daily...exactly what I do not need right now, or ever. Certainly ANY tree on a dam should be removed immediately - but I take it a step further. Walking around the perimeter and on both sides of the dam every other month and it's easy to stay on top of them...but you weren't asking about this...I digress.

I think you're fine with the native grasses.

Native grasses as far as I know do not have tap roots so you should be fine.

Thanks for the quick response guys, what an awesome resource this website is.
If I want to mow the crown of the dam to water level can I get a native species that will fit the bill? Can I mow switch grass for a walking path.
I've been reading about grasses for 2 hours now on the site and I am thinking if I want to go native I should keep the usual "lawn" mixes away so they dont over take the natives. Or can I have a distinct border between the two? A bermuda/blue grass/brohm usual lawn mix on top that can be mowed like my lawn and then switch grass on the slope and extending away from the bottom of the pond? Can these grasses live harmoniously?
So much to think about...

I think the natives, if thick enough will shade out the lawn grass. The roots of the switchgrass aren't thick enough to leave a large path for water to follow if they die and decay like tree roots.

Switchgrass should be burned every other year (I'd burn it at year 1 to remove many weeds/small trees that grew from having the soil bare and disturbed). Switchgrass shouldn't be mowed when green - it's not mowed in it's native habitat, and I don't know how well it would survive.

I think that if you have a dense stand of native switchgrass, you could have lawn grass right next to it, but that's just my gut feeling. I've seen stands of switchgrass with grass paths mowed thru it, but the path didn't look like a lush lawn, more like pasture grass.

Thanks esshup, I think its worth a try anyway. I'll drill winter rye now and then seed the switch grass this winter, along with a few native wild flowers. I'll keep the forum updated on progress.
Next project after seeding is well drilling and dock building. Been referencing brettski's dock building saga for the past few days.

By winter rye are you talking rye grain or rye grass? I assuming annual rye grass. Switch grass and wild flowers are not a good mix, the switch will shade them out and over take them. Instead of switchgrass, consider shorter natives like little blue, side oats, etc. I have the stock seeds short native mix on the east side of the pond (opposite of the dam) and it looks great. With this I mixed in the stock seeds wildflower mix. It is 3 years old and is looking great. Nice and green right now even though we haven't had 10" of rain all year.