10 replies to this topic

[kopite09]

does anyone have any idea how i can stabalise my water lillies? they are in a basket at the bottom of my pond but as i have a strong pump they tend not to flourish due to the strong currents. i would ideally like to put the basket in some sort of frame that hangs over the side of the pond but have not seen any for sale.
could anyone help please?

[DrDave]

Can you post a picture of your arrangement? You have not provided flow rates, size of pond, and have left us with many questions.

[phillyofish]

i put some small concrete bricks to even out the weight on the elephant ears in my pond. they were a bit unstable.

[sissy]

I used a wire around the plant basket and ran the wire out of the pond to a stake that I put in the ground to keep it up and stable .I used a stainless steel thick wire that I found in Lowes .Not sure what it is used for but I found it near the well pumps .Not sure this will help you but thought it might help .To cover the stake I built a little bird house and attached it to it to make it look like it was there for it and the birdhouse is fake just a piece of wood with a fake hole .Did not want the birds pooping in my pond

[taherrmann4]

Instead of stainless steel wire try copper after a few weeks it really blends well into the landscape and you can hardly see it. I use either 12-16 gauge electrical wire you use in your home, strip the sheeting on the outside of it and then take the insulation off the wire, there are three wires in it (black, white, neutral) so it goes very far. Got the idea from bonsai plants.

[Malak]

Isn't there an issue of the copper being poisonous to plants?

[fishin4cars]

Malak said:

Isn't there an issue of the copper being poisonous to plants?

Not sure about plants, but it is VERY poisonous to any kind of invertebrates. Lilies don't like extreme water movement at all. Most other plants that are potted don't really in most cases bother them to much. Lotus can handle moving water far better than lilies and will produce beautiful flowers most of the warmer season.
Copper is used in some medications but at very specific doses, I know that alot of pond sculptures and statues are made of copper and I'm really not sure how or if it breaks down in pond water at a rate fast enough to do any harm, some research would need to be done to find out.

[Malak]

You never heard about putting pennies in a potted plant to kill it? Old office trick for plants you can't stand at work. Agree about the invertebrates. They are sensitive to everything, worse than frogs in many ways.

[j.w]

Zinc is the real killer in pennies nowadays. Years ago they were made from copper but since the early 80's they switched to using mostly zinc. I think it would take an awful lot of copper to kill the fish but I wouldn't take the chance myself

[Malak]

Yes, and don't forget that just because something is designed for the pond, does not mean a pond with fish!

[sissy]

huum wonder about zinc and pennies lets see addy owes jw a penny and then jw owes me a penny and then hear pennies are killers (interesting).You have to watch some of the plastics you buy for ponds also .I have notice that some of them break down really fast and fish think the pieces are food ,they usually spit them right out but never know .I tried to avoid most of those plastics and opt for planter bags or heavier pots