I am new to this forum and would like some advice on how to take cuttings from a lily which is rooted at the edge of my pond. It has long since burst free of its pot, and is growing nicely in the pond. It's a pretty spectacular lily. I don't know the variety, but the leaves are really big and stand up out of the water. It blooms profusely and the flowers are so showy that they don't even look real. I'll post a photo when they start blooming again. My problem is, I'd like to propagate this lily so that I can use it in other areas of the pond. All the information I've found talks about lifting the pots and exposing the root system. Obviously, I can't do that. Does anyone have any experience with taking a cutting from a plant that is rooted in the pond?
how to take cuttings from a hardy lily which is rooted in the pond
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Smaug
God makes perfect. I just dug the hole
If the tuber is bug enough just break off a piece and plant it . They aren't exactly delicate .
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Just make sure you have a growth tip on the part broken off. IE leaves, stems, this time of year pretty small. When you plant it make sure the growth tip is above the soil.
Smaug
God makes perfect. I just dug the hole
Forgot to say what Addy said!
HARO
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Are you sure it's a lily? Sounds like it could be a lotus. Much more fragile than a lily, and should be treated GENTLY!
John
P.S. Where in the Great White North are you?
John
P.S. Where in the Great White North are you?
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Good thought! Lotus do have leaves out of the water. If it is a lotus the tuber would need to be found, before spring growth starts up, cut off at the growth runner, leaving the tuber whole. Then that tuber placed on top of soil, held down by a rock, they tend to float. If done after they start to grow they tend to die.
lotus
lily some hold their flower out of the water
HARO
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Yes, the description seems to be of a lotus rather than a lily. Few lily leaves "stand up out of the water".
John
Hope we haven't scared the OP away!
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lol who knows, wait and see if they come back.
Smaug
God makes perfect. I just dug the hole
Lily leaves can and do come up out of the water if they are crowded. I also have a lotus but most only bloom for a short time and would be difficult to mistake for a lily bloom.
Nope...not scared away, just haven't checked into the forum for a while. I can't be sure if it's a lily or a lotus. When I post some photos, maybe some of you can identify it for me. I have just taken on this project of improving and maintaining the two large ponds in my townhouse complex in Vancouver, B.C. One pond is about 30,000 gallons, and the other one is about 15,000 gallons, each with a fountain and pump but no filters other than screens to keep out debris. They have been ignored for many years and have several problems. I spent 6 months last year physically cleaning the sludge out of the bottom by scooping it out with a fish net. Gross work and physically very demanding for a woman in her 60's! This year should be easier since I can now maintain it. One pond has a big algae problem due to too much sun exposure and fairly shallow water. I will be adding lilies to provide some shade but what to do about all this algae?!!! I will post photos soon. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm doing lots of research, have consulted with some pond companies but since I am doing this myself, I want to be sure that any money I spend is worth while. The strata has given me a small budget and I must spend wisely.
Duckweed? Fast growing oxygenator to deplete N or P? Hornwort, Naja?
I have had some luck with water lettuce in the big pond. They looked really interesting and I will put more of them in this season. However, when I tried some of them in the algae-problem pond, the current from the fountain pump quickly moved all the plants down to where the pump is and I found all the lettuce stacked up against the filter. Very frustrating. So, I think that I can only have plants which are held in place by pots.
@lamby Many ponders will contain their floaters ising a ring (a Hula Hoop for example) or contain them to an area using fishing line for example. You are not alone with that problem! Floating plants are so beneficial to a pond that I would suggest you try to figure out a way to corral them! Good luck!
Oh, that's an interesting idea! Last summer I bought two floating plant containers which were covered in black landscape fabric, but the racoons tore them to shreds so then I was skimming styrofoam bits out of the pond for ages. I really like the idea of floaters as oxygenators so I will think of how I can corral them in a more natural way. The racoons are very interested in whatever I put in the pond. You'd think they would eventually realize that I have no intention of adding fish one day and move on to someone else's pond. Each time I add a new plant, they tear it up searching for fish. Very frustrating.
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Floating rope works great, hardware store. The raccoons are looking for snails too. They love them.