Marietta Bassmasters Plants Buttonbushes at Lake Allatoona

The Marietta Bassmasters held their second conservation project of 2015 on Lake Allatoona on March 22, 2015. The project was organized with support of the Lake Allatoona U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Marietta Bassmasters desired to implement a sustainable fish and wildlife habitat by virtue of planting native buttonbush plants along the shores of Lake Allatoona. The plants will create aquatic cover for fish, roosting sites for birds, flowers for bees, butterflies and food for wildlife. The goal is to establish the plants and allow them to reproduce naturally.

Common buttonbush is a multi-stemmed shrub which grows 6 to 12 feet tall or occasionally taller. It’s a multi-branched shrub or sometimes a small tree with many branches (often crooked and leaning). It has an irregular crown, balls of white flowers that resembling pincushions and button-like balls of fruit. Buttonbush is a handsome ornamental suited to wet soils and is also a honey plant. Ducks and other water birds and shorebirds consume the seeds.

Thirty plants were acquired by the Marietta Bassmasters as 3-gallon rooted specimens approximately 18 to 24 inches in height. Monies were raised as part of a "pay or play" program where members contribute their time or their money for such events. The conservation team consisted of three members, and they worked collectively for 12 hours to acquire, transport and plant the 30 plants. The plant grouping was planted in a non-developed, protected area of the lake selected collectively by the corps and the Marietta Bassmasters.