Tabs vs Liquid based plant fertilzers?

[LDWII]

I have been using fertilizer tabs to fertilize my water Lilys with good success over the years. But now that I am getting older (lazier?) I am considering switching to a liquid based version (Microbe-Lift Bloom and Grow), as it would avoid the hassle of inserting the tabs mid summer. Anyone have any experience using liquid version. Seems like it would not be as effective because it isn't as 'direct' as tabs in the pot. But maybe the plants just absorb the nutrients via water anyway. Also, any issues with filter mitigating effectiveness? Thanks for insights.

 

[addy1]

All I do is lift the lilies out of their oil pan pots and put around 1/4 cup of osmocote under the kitty litter, once a year. Don't touch them again

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I've never tried the liquid, but my first thought is that the only plants I really want to fertilize are my lilies so I get better blooms. Using the tabs directly every couple weeks seems to work best. All the marginals I want to get their nutrients out of the water to help combat any algae, so I don't want to supplement them. It does sound like an easier solution, though I wonder how the cost would compare (a big bottle of plant tabs is pretty cheap!) If you do try it, let us know what your results were. Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[Mmathis]

I don’t think I understand how a liquid would work in a water environment, as the fertilizer would be too easily soluble in the water of the pond. Are you thinking of an injection-type delivery? How? IDK, I pretty much do like @addy1, since they have to be repotted anyway.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I don’t think I understand how a liquid would work in a water environment, as the fertilizer would be too easily soluble in the water of the pond. Are you thinking of an injection-type delivery? How? IDK, I pretty much do like @addy1, since they have to be repotted anyway.

According to the Microbe-Lift Bloom & Grow instructions, you just dose it into the pond based on water volume

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[LDWII]

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like kind of a crap shoot. I will report back later this summer with results.

 

[brokensword]

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like kind of a crap shoot. I will report back later this summer with results.

this is the thought that came to my mind re the liquid fert; you're helping the algae, right along with any other plant in the pond. I think concentrating the fert ONLY in the areas/plants you want and NOT having it dilute via the pond water, is much better for both plant and pond. The whole idea of having plants in a pond is that they extract the nitrates floating about, that which feeds any algal bloom. So, unless you don't have fish, I'd say you're be looking for green pond syndrome a lot faster by using the liquid. Do as addy says and you'll be good. Generally, you have to groom them back and/or repot/divide lilies anyway, so just fertilize them at the same time. The osmocote is a slow release, that's why you don't need to do it more than once, though it doesn't hurt if you want more flowers to feed them once a month.

 

[mrsclem]

I looked up the product- it is not a fertilizer, just a supplement. Not sure how that is supposed to work but they say it does not promote algae .

 

[addy1]

I looked up the product- it is not a fertilizer, just a supplement. Not sure how that is supposed to work but they say it does not promote algae .

Sounds interesting but to treat my ponds it would get a bit pricey! They say once a week.

 

[Lisak1]

All I do is lift the lilies out of their oil pan pots

I've heard you say this so many times @addy1 and I always wonder - don't your lilies get jam packed in their pans/pots? Mine are so tightly packed in there after even a single season that there's no way I could lift them out and replace them. It practically takes a crow bar! Explain please what I'm doing wrong! I use osmocote when I re-pot, but that's just year one. Maybe it works TOO good!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I've heard you say this so many times @addy1 and I always wonder - don't your lilies get jam packed in their pans/pots? Mine are so tightly packed in there after even a single season that there's no way I could lift them out and replace them. It practically takes a crow bar! Explain please what I'm doing wrong! I use osmocote when I re-pot, but that's just year one. Maybe it works TOO good!

Last year was the first time I've had to resort to putting all (well, most) of my lilies in containers. I had planted two tubers in each pot. When we lifted the dishpans (my container of choice) last week, two of them were SOLID roots & tubers. One tuber had jumped ship & grown right out through the welded wire fencing I have over the containers (to keep the fish from molesting them) and I had to cut away both roots & tuber to get it free. We divided & replanted the best tubers in fresh soil.
One of the other pots (a circular rubber pan with an assortment of spare tubers) wasn't over grown, tubers looked good with nice new growth and just needed to be top dressed with more planting medium & put back. Three others were obviously not as vigorous of growers and/or not in as favorable location in the pond, because they were sort of... meh! No overgrowth of roots or tubers, minimal new foliage showing. We replanted the best parts of the tubers in fresh media, added fertilizer tabs, and added in excess tubers from the overgrown/vigorous containers.
I guess my take away from this was - some lilies are much (much, much, much, MUCH!) more vigorous than others, all things being equal.

 

[addy1]

I've heard you say this so many times @addy1 and I always wonder - don't your lilies get jam packed in their pans/pots? Mine are so tightly packed in there after even a single season that there's no way I could lift them out and replace them. It practically takes a crow bar! Explain please what I'm doing wrong! I use osmocote when I re-pot, but that's just year one. Maybe it works TOO good!

My pans are the oil pans, the sides angle out. The lilies lift right out. I even need to tie a few to the pans to keep them in the pan. I had one float out and just float around the pond for the season.

Some do grow bigger faster, if they do jump the pot and get those roots out of the pot, they can be really heavy. The roots get covered with dirt and very heavy.

I have not done a hard groom in two years, this fall it will be a hard groom. All I have done recently is cut off any large dead or not growing well tubers.

 

[Lisak1]

Your lilies just tow the line. Mine - mind of their own! I use the oil pans too, mostly - I have one monster in a dish pan - but they get packed SO TIGHT in that pan that it takes a crowbar to get them out! I guess I shouldn't complain that my lilies grow TOO MUCH, but man they can be beastly to deal with! This is my year for the chop and divide... pray for me!

 

[addy1]

LOL I have turned a few of the monsters loose.

In the 1000 gallon tank, 2.5 feet deep, gets dirty water from the big pond. I spread oil dry on the bottom, dumped them out of their pans, 4 lilies. During the summer I can get in there and prune back the tubers, will be interesting to see the growth, flowers etc. They are not getting any extra food. One of the lilies gives me 8 inch flowers, I never fertilized them last year and two jumped the pots. So I helped them jump out!

In the fall the big pond lilies will be conquered and divided...............maybe lol

 

[LDWII]

Thanks for the additional insights. I too discovered the liquid Bloom and Grow is not a fertilizer. Rather it is a supplement to help the roots better absorb the nutrients created by the fish. Cant say I understand how exactly it works, but conceptually that makes more sense than adding fertilize directly to the water. I will give it a try and report back mid-summer with results. Last summer the lily's were so full (but not too many blooms) that I separated and repotted three of them (was able to 'sell back' extra tubers to pond store and got a nice your Koi for free. Sweet deal). I left them in pots at bottom of pond (SE Wi) over the winter and they are already at surface. FWIW, last year it took until early May to even start sprouting, so that is promising. Just this weekend I repotted the Water Cana and two Iris. Water Cana did great last year. Iris grew but never bloomed. I am looking forward to watching them bloom/grow. Here are two pictures from last summer one before and one after I thinned the Lily's.