I inherited the gardens and pond at our school and the person before me planted Golden Reed in our bog. The bog is about 4'-5' in diameter and approximately 1' deep. The reed has completely taken over the bog and is moving into the grass, pond, and is even growing up into the waterfall. I have been trying to rip it out as much as I can. I'm even planning on trying to dig out as much as possible when we empty the pond for cleaning. I'm against using chemicals, but I'm afraid that if we don't use them we won't get it all and will just remain a problem. Any advice?

I too am against using poisons and would just advise continuing manual removal. You can also cover some of the reeds with black plastic or other light-blocking materials so they are starved for light (and get burnt on hot days). After a few weeks, that might kill the tops at least (although the roots may come back). I have a similar problem with water celery taking over part of my pond (the waterfall stream and overflow area). I sort of gave up. If you're doing a pond cleaning and can pull everything out, then that should really help. What are the reeds planted in in the bog, dirt or gravel or something else?

Thanks for your reply! The bog has a liner and is made up of dirt and gravel. There is a rock wall between the bog and pond, but unfortunatley it is stacked with mud. The reed is now moving into the pond, up the waterfall, and into the grass.

I started pulling some yesterday and the root system is unbelievable. It sounds like I'm going to have to dig the whole thing up and replace the soil. It will be a huge stinky job, but it's already out of control and I would hate to see it continue.

I've done a lot of hard labor on my ponds! It takes a lot of time, energy, strength, will power, etc. to put up with all the repotting and pond cleaning! Some days I think I can't do it but persevere.