The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Land Management => Topic started by: edstrong on July 15, 2021, 11:12:08 am
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I have a lot of young bulrush (new this year) growing in a large pond (about 1/2 acre). It is natural clay-lined so only topsoil for the first 2 feet then clay deeper. I know bulrush can be invasive and was wondering whether to pull it all up before it establishes, or allow it to grow in places and hope that the deeper clay prevents it spreading much beyond the pond margin and I would need to do an annual 'weeding' to contain it.
I realise it is likely to reseed each year but it would be easier to remove young plants than established ones. Bulrush is a good plant for wildlife and would help stablise the pond banks so a bit of a dilemma.
Thoughts please!
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Where I grew up we had a pond which had been a marl pit. It had bulrushes but they never took over the whole pond and it rarely got cleaned out.
In my current large garden pond, (nothing as big as yours) I have mini bulrush which is easy to control.
Were your pond mine I would keep the bulrush for all its benefits and grub them out if they start to get invasive.
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The reedmace seems to like light on its base (rhyzomes). So extensive shallow ponds may get infested. Clear water and shallow may be a disaster! (more light).
Our pond, same-ish size has only a fringe of reedmace (I would like more) but our pond has minimal shallows.