Hello, I wanted to know if anyone can ID these plants I found along the road. I plan to take a couple to plant around my koi/goldfish pond. But first I want to be sure they are safe. On my way to work there is a swamp by the edge of the road. I do not know what it is, but It looks like the tall feather grass people have in their yards. I cant think of the name, but I think it starts with a p. (pampus?) I think it is at the edge of the swamp. Not in the water itself. Do you think I could pull it out by hand? Will they be OK since it is cold here and plants are going dormant? http://memberfiles.freewebs.com/91/70/48547091/photos/Mary-B/swampplants1.JPG http://memberfiles.freewebs.com/91/70/48547091/photos/Mary-B/swampplants2.JPG
They're phragmites, a very common swamp grass. Not sure if they're related to pampas grass but it seems likely. It's unlikely pulling by hand would be successful, just the upper portion would pull off. Bring a shovel and try to get a good ball of roots.
If it were pampas grass, you'd really regret trying to pull one by hand. The grass edges are like flexible saw blades. And it's horribly invasive. But it doesn't look like pampas grass. However, pulling a clump is a good way to destroy the little networks of hair-roots that do the work of feeding the plant.
Ditto to Common Reed Phragmites australis. There are two subspecies in N America, native P. a. subsp. americanus, and invasive P. a. subsp. australis from Europe. Distinguishing them isn't easy, but subsp. australis tends to be more vigorous with dense stands, so yours is more likely that. In which case, not a good idea to transplant any to your pond. It can spread 4-6 metres per year by rhizomes, so you'd very soon have no visible pond left.