Hi Jason, Great questions. I believe that with a minimal fish load and lots of plants and water movement, clear water is certainly possible. Be prepared to deal with a spring algae bloom - easy to do with a pre filter of quilt batting or batting the water from your weir can flow thru. I change it as needed thru the algae bloom and then don't need it for the rest of the summer. You'll also need to have a plan for the goldfish offspring. With all that anacharis they will have lots of places to hide and goldfish reproduce at an amazing rate. (I had 3 goldies I thought were too young produce 28 babies in 3 months) The fry will need to be removed to prevent overloading your pond. I feed my fish sparingly, just when I want to see them. It helps keep the excess nutrients (uneaten food) down, and mine certainly have lots of other stuff to eat. My ponds are small (300 and 250 gallons) compared to yours. This is just my experience, I'm sure others will chime in to give you better answers! Happy ponding! S

I agree, once they have been removed from their native habitat and placed in commerce, there is no other option, except to try to prevent their demise. Since it is legal for landowners to remove native plants from their property and sell, barter or give them away and in some states, with a state issued permit, remove them from public property, many attempts at stopping the practice have failed. A World-Wide demand for our native's fuels the practice, with willing buyers in Europe and Japan, hundred's of thousands, possibly millions, are loaded onto airfreight carriers each year. While we may abhor such harvesting of native plants, there is another side of the controversy, the necessity of providing basic subsistence for many residents of the region, where job opportunities are often scarce or nil and whose ingrained beliefs would never permit them to ask for public assistance. I grew up in such a family, which relocated from that region for better job opportunities, but that belief has remained unchanged within our family for more than 100 years. MO Rb

I was very pleased with my Pickering order this year. Mine arrived around 2 months ago and were soaked for several days in water before planting although the roots were still moist. Although the canes do not have the girth of the California grown roses that I have received from other companies, they are growing very vigorously-some have 18 inches of growth already. I would think that you are on the right path. If it is hot and sunny, I don't think that I would have put the bag over the roses, as it could get too hot. I have planted many bare root roses this spring, including many from mid April to mid May. I did not mound up any soil around any of them this year, as we have had a relatively cool and rainy spring. IF it is hot and dry and/or you have drying winds, then I would mound up some soil or mulch around the canes, checking them perhaps twice a week. In all I planted around 50 bare root roses. (new house on 1 acre, little landscaping). Of the 10 I ordered from Pickering, all are doing well except for one, an undersized one which finally died despite all my efforts-they have agreed to replace it when I submit my next order this fall. Most are thriving and some are larger than the ones I got from David Austin Rose Nursery. A few began blooming 2 weeks ago and most will be in bloom shortly. Best of luck in getting your new roses to grow! John

I'd suggest she get the book Roses for New England by Mike and Angelina Chute. It isn't too late to plant potted roses, but there are some real advantages to getting bareroot rose next Spring--wider selection, rootstock better suited for acid soil, and prevention of rose midge. It is much easier to care for roses planted in the early spring in New England--while you can plant them in the warmer months, you can lose them if you don't water them adequately--as they may need time to re-establish a root system damaged during transplanting. Here is a link that might be useful: book Roses for New England