GW's pond site tree Water Tupelo?

[GW]

I'm most concerned with whether or not these trees will survive extended flooding. 

(OK now is where you tell me that, yes, these trees will survive and create a beautiful swamp habitat for fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mosquitoes.)

Thang ya, thang ya veri much.

[SwampDonkey]

Don't you know that Elvis was from Tupelo .

No I didn't. I guess I'm not a fan. My mother was though in the day, but I doubt she even knows it. 

[Dodgy Loner]

Virginia-willow, which is also known as Virginia sweetspire, is not a true willow and not even closely related to the willows.  It belongs to the family Grossulariaceae.  Not sure how it got its common name, but I suspect it has something to do with the similarity of the fruits to willow capsules.

Swamp tupelos can grow in several feet of standing water, but suddenly submerging a mature tree's roots in water might kill it.  Only time will tell...

[SwampDonkey]

Virginia-willow, which is also known as Virginia sweetspire, is not a true willow and not even closely related to the willows.  It belongs to the family Grossulariaceae.  Not sure how it got its common name, but I suspect it has something to do with the similarity of the fruits to willow capsules.

That's my suspicion to.

[WDH]

Unless it is continuous extended flooding several feet deep, the tupelo should be OK.  If is is perpetual flooding...(well, the roots need some aeration), they might not make it.

[GW]

The cool thing about this pond is that we're going to have two different spillway levels. The lower one will give us about a 4 acre pond without flooded trees. The higher level will back water up into the area where the creek enters the pond and that's where I want to leave all of the trees standing. I'm thinking I'll have the higher drain about 3 feet above the lower and I'm shooting for about 3/4 acre of swamp habitat at full pool.

I don't know if the weather and the watershed will result in being able to maintain the higher level all year, but if it does I can alway opt for lowering it at any time.

[limbrat]

A swampy shallow water area sounds cool but it might not be the best thing for your pond. These hot water ponds are a great place for coontail moss, yellow lotas and cat tails to live. Once they get a foot hold they are difficult and expensive to get rid of. After they get started in a shallow area were light can reach the bottom the lotas and moss can move out into deeper water were they could not get started. If you can cut the shallow end to 4' or so and keep it fertilized so that the planton can shade the bottom it will keep weeds out feed the fish and make oxygen and keep the bottom of the pond from heating up.
lotas can come back from seed two years after you wipe it out, then i had to start over with the grandular 24d

[GW]

limbrat, I don't disagree with any of your comments, however, I have a plan....

I picture this as a smaller pond within a larger one. The smaller pond will be steeply rimmed so that the bottom quickly drops away to avoid excess weed growth. From the shoreline of the small pond level, the bank will very gradually rise to the shoreline of the larger pond level. When the pond is low this gradual embankment will be covered with grasses and will be at a reasonable incline for mowing.

When the pond is held at the high level the bottom will drop off gradually as described above. When this gentle slope is flooded the grasses will die and be replaced eventually by the weeds that you mentioned. The same will happen in the swamp area although maybe at a slower pace because it will hopefully be shaded to some degree by the Tupelo trees.

If or when the aquatic weeds get out of control I'm thinking that I can just drain the pond to the lower pool level, killing the weeds on the gradual banks and wetland area of the larger pond.

I have no doubt that there will be problems and surprises, but I'm not necessarily shooting for a low maintenance pond. I'm more interested in experimenting and learning as I go. In the end I might end up staying with only one of the drain levels, but I might get lucky and find a cycle that gives me a maintenance advantage.

Any feedback about my idea is appreciated. It's a lot easier to make changes now, before the dozers get here.