Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Tuesday - June 10, 2008
From: White Lake , MI
Region: Midwest
Topic: Water Gardens
Title: Native plants for retention pond in Michigan
Answered by: Nan Hampton and Chris Caran
QUESTION:
What native plants would you recommend a for a southeast Michigan retention pond perimeter? Also are there native water plants that help algae control? The pond is about 75x30 feet and ranging from 2 ft. to 6 inches at max. depth depending on the time of season. This is for an Eagle Scout project to create a natural self-maintaining ecosystem that is attractive. Thank you.ANSWER:
First of all, let's address your algae problem. Algae grows prolifically when it has an abundance of nutrients in the water to feed it; so, the way to reduce the algal growth is to reduce the nutrient supply. Is the surrounding area being fertilized heavily? If so, is there any chance of reducing this? Are there fish (koi, goldfish) that are being fed in the pond? If so, perhaps the amount of food could be reduced. One of the best ways to attack the problem is to introduce flowering plants that will compete with the algae for nutrients. Reducing the available light for the algae with floating plants will also help with the competition.That said, here are some suggestions for plants that are native to Michigan that would be attractive for your project and all of which will grow in full sun. After the edge plants are established it is possible you could add some part shade or shade plants to the edges. You can find more plants for your project by doing a Combination Search in our Native Plant Database by selecting Michigan from "All states and provinces" and then Wet from "Soil moisture". You can find nurseries that specialize in native plant in your area by searching in our National Suppliers Directory. For instance, Rolling Acres Native Landscape Nursery in Reedsville, Wisconsin has many of the plants listed below grown from nursery stock, not taken from the wild and they will ship their plants.
Floating, submerged and emergent aquatic plants (some of these will also grow at edges in mud):
Vallisneria americana (American eelgrass)
Utricularia gibba (humped bladderwort)
Sagittaria latifolia (broadleaf arrowhead)
Potamogeton nodosus (longleaf pondweed)
Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed)
Peltandra virginica (green arrow arum)
Nymphaea odorata (American white waterlily)
Nuphar lutea ssp. advena (yellow pond-lily)
Nelumbo lutea (American lotus)
Justicia americana (American water-willow)
Hydrocotyle umbellata (manyflower marshpennywort)
Eriocaulon aquaticum (sevenangle pipewort)
Alisma subcordatum (American water plantain)
Edge plants:
Menyanthes trifoliata (buckbean)
Lythrum alatum (winged lythrum)
Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia)
Lobelia cardinalis (cardinalflower)
Iris virginica (Virginia iris)
Iris versicolor (harlequin blueflag)
Equisetum hyemale (scouringrush horsetail)
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Carex stipata (owlfruit sedge)
Calamagrostis canadensis (bluejoint)
Small shrubs for edges:
Lindera benzoin (northern spicebush)
Ledum groenlandicum (bog Labrador tea) evergreen, requires acidic soil (pH <6.8)
Kalmia polifolia (bog laurel) evergreen, requires acidic soil (pH <6.8)
Hibiscus moscheutos (crimsoneyed rosemallow)
More Water Gardens Questions
Pond plants that ducks will NOT eat
March 27, 2009 - What kind of pond plants are there that ducks will NOT eat?
view the full question and answer
Understory plants for Lake Forest IL
June 21, 2009 - We have a large mostly hardwood lot in Lake County. It floods when it rains hard and remains damp most of the year due to the amount of shade and clay based top soil. Besides the hardwood trees and ...
view the full question and answer
Poor drainage in clay soils in Langhorne PA
September 15, 2009 - Our backyard has very poor drainage, to the point of up to 3 inches of rain can sit until it is evaporated. Talking to neighbors, they informed us that there use to be a terrain that ran through our ...
view the full question and answer
Water-loving native plants for Pottstown, PA
September 11, 2009 - I live about 40 miles west of Philadelphia. I am looking for a water absorbing evergreen tree/bush/plant that I could plant in the rear of my yard. We get a small stream every good rain and the back...
view the full question and answer
Deterring geese from a wildflower garden
February 28, 2015 - I've moved into a home with a large pond beyond the grass yard. I intend to plant a sunflower house with lots of other plants as part of the structure, such as flowering vines, clover, mint and thyme...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |