Field Notes: June 28, 2013

New phragmites shoot and roots, 13 days after cutting and planting

I have been gone on vacation for little more than a week, and now that I am back, it is time to get busy with planting.  You may have noticed clumps of plants appearing here and there around the undeveloped parts of the lake.  These are likely phragmites plants, which make up the cane beds.  I have begun several experimental plantings by cutting stems from wetland plants and poking them into the lake bottom.  It may seem strange, and it may not work, but after 13 days the first cuttings are already sending out roots and shoots.  Whether or not these can produce a healthy enough root system to survive the winter remains to be seen, but even if mildly successful this could be an inexpensive tool to establish new beds or expand existing ones.  

Water is really too high to begin planting bulrush plants, but there is no guarantee the water will go down, so I’m slowly planting if hope that conditions will improve.  Our custom grown plants should have a fair chance at making it because they are between 3-4 feet tall.  Planting is never comfortable, but in deep water it is a real strain, and if a person is under 6 foot they need a snorkel with the current conditions. 

It appears that there will be no nesting on the rafts this year, but we have learned a lot from the experience, and plan on making some modifications to the rafts to make them more attractive to the birds.  The artificial island on Lake Butte des Morts had a record number of nest with eggs this year, so at least there should be more birds to attract in this part of the state.