Cat-tails?

[Than_Bogan]

Anybody ever use cat-tails to prevent backwash and/or control erosion?

 

Were they effective?

 

Where did you get them & how did you plant them?

 

(The name "cat-tail" seems to refer to three different plants. I'm talking about the broad-leafed cat-tail, typha latifolia, that is native to marshes throughout the U.S.)

[buoyboy1]

I planted 20,000 of them at my lake. If you have clay soil they will be slow growing but if its silty/sandy they will grow quite well provided you also live in a southern climate. They will however attract muskrats. We planted them just above the water level in a 18" x 24" diagonal pattern about 10' wide on the 10:1 shelf. They do eventually grown out into 18" max water depth. We kept the lake down about 4" (low enough to keep the soil moist but to avoid wind erosion) and did not ski on the lake for the first year to allow shoreline growth to develop. If you plan on skiing while you plant them I would drop the lake some more so the rollers don't erode the cattails but if you don't want to erode away your lake its well worth staying off it for at least a year. That was very difficult but the long term benefit was HUGE. If I had to do it over again I would also find something that does not attract muskrats like spikerush. We bought the cattails through Wildlife Nurseries in WI. However, after a few years we also have native cattails growing. After 3-4 years, I would say a 50/50 mix of planted ones and native ones was very well established.

[Than_Bogan]

Awesome info!

I have a challenging situation where I can't control the water level ... or much of anything else.

 

Also definitely not a warm climate.

 

But high water caused some bad erosion over the last few years and now it has to be really low in order to ski well. There's little hope of shoreline modification or adding riprap, so we're trying to think outside the box.

 

It's a relatively small section that is most of the problem.

 

[gregy]

There was a public lake course I skied on years ago that someone planted some kind of plant along the shoreline in several feet of water. Not sure what it is was, we always call them Reeds. Did a great job of knocking down rollers. As I remember it grew about 3' above the water line and a long grassy leaf. What ever it was it had to have been planted in the water because there was a rock wall along most of the shoreline.

[buoyboy1]

Photos of your lake would be helpful. I have know guys to use snow type fencing to help with rollers if the area is small.

[eleeski]

My cattails were great for keeping rollers down - for a while. They protected the shore from erosion and kept the wind off the water.

 

I worked pretty hard to keep them out because they interfered with the fish harvest. But that was a losing effort and the cattails took over. Initially my lake had the best water anywhere as the cattails minimized the wind and dissipated the rollers. Then the cattails got too thick. They formed a solid wall of biomass which reflected rollers perfectly making a set down and wait mandatory. Other problems happened when big clumps would break off and float in the middle of the lake and too often we had to push the cattail islands out of the way to ski (I hate islands). Another problem was that the cattails pulled a lot of the nutrients out of the water. This kept the plankton from growing so my water would get very clear. This allowed pondweed to take over. The cattails took over everywhere including the docks and boat parking. At least the cattails didn't grow all the way across the lake.

 

Eventually I became unable to harvest fish there and the skiing got sketchy. There were some other factors but I don't now ski on that lake. It is prime habitat and we are next to a nature preserve so I'm letting it go with the environmental application as the best use for the pond. If I wanted to ski and fish farm it again, I'd have to drain it and do a fair amount of dozer work. I have other ski lake projects with higher priority.

 

I do use cattails at another site as part of a water purification system. Hmmm, the water is actually dirtier coming out (measured by coliform count) but that's probably from the bird poop from the massive bird population enjoying the habitat the cattails created. The output water is very clear so they are working for that.

 

For me, cattails have been a mixed result. Use them with care and they can be great. But they do have downsides in needing maintenance and they can take over the lake. Heavy equipment (including pontoon boat mounted cattail cutters) are effective at controlling them - but expensive and difficult. I am in the perfect environment for growing cattails so they will be a lot harder for me to control than most other lakes. Your situation may be different.

 

Eric

 

 

[gregy]

barrels?

http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/4427/wave-suppression-barrier

 

@scotchipman what the vegetation growing around the course you ski on. Its a Utah is a cold climate.

[gregy]

"Phragmites australis, or common reed, is a wetland plant species found in every U.S. state. It can grow up to 6 meters high in dense stands and is long-lived."

 

Wow, 6 meters tall. That's some serious stuff.

[MrJones]

We are in the south and cattails showed up as volunteers. I have allowed them to grow down one side of the lake for erosion control. The other we have reworked the shoreline with a backhoe and used 1x5" rock in places as I want to keep it open.

 

The cattails got a bit out of hand last year so we started poisoning them. We just drove down the lake (in the boat) up against them with a spot sprayer and generic Round Up. This has pushed them back about 6-8' closer to the shore, but has not killed them off entirely.

 

Our water is super clear. I did not realize that the cattails could be the cause of that. Given the cost of dye vs. shoreline work I believe I will just keep buying Sensient.

[DW]

@Than: consider the unintended consequences carefully (eleeski post) as you alter the ecosystem. Also, phragmites are not a good alternative, they are referred to as an invasive species and will choke out other plant life and become a nuisance.

[Than_Bogan]

@DW I'm pretty sure we have cat-tails, but they don't spread on their own well enough to get to the most important areas. But your point is very well taken. We'll try to be smart.

[mbabiash]

Anymore info on different types of reeds to plant. I have the go ahead from hoa to plant reeds for erosion sake but for me it's a roller thing.

Any one have a source to buy them in bulk?