Finally bought plants....how to pot them?

[anthony21078]

I have neglected having an abundance of plants for far too long and bought the following online. 1 of each,

Purple lobelia
Pink lobelia
Bog Bean
Bloody Dock
Dwarf Umbrella Palm
Aquatic Mint
Corkscrew Rush
Arrowhead
Aquatic Forget-me-not
Chinese Lizard tail

If I researched correctly then all the above plants are hardy and will hopefully survive through the cold winters in zone 7 and come back each spring. I currently have 3 hardy plants in the pond (for the past 2 years, Horsetail rush, variegated Sweetflag) using plastic pots that are wedged between the rocks and submerged just a bit over the top of the pot. The 3 plastic pots I have in there now have holes on the bottom to let the roots spread. I have no idea if these new plants will come with plastic pots but I dont think so.

Help me out here. Should I use plastic pots, fabric pots or just try to place these new plants in between the rocks with no pot? Kitty litter or maybe try Aquascape potting media?

 

[brokensword]

I have neglected having an abundance of plants for far too long and bought the following online. 1 of each,

Purple lobelia
Pink lobelia
Bog Bean
Bloody Dock
Dwarf Umbrella Palm
Aquatic Mint
Corkscrew Rush
Arrowhead
Aquatic Forget-me-not
Chinese Lizard tail

If I researched correctly then all the above plants are hardy and will hopefully survive through the cold winters in zone 7 and come back each spring. I currently have 3 hardy plants in the pond (for the past 2 years, Horsetail rush, variegated Sweetflag) using plastic pots that are wedged between the rocks and submerged just a bit over the top of the pot. The 3 plastic pots I have in there now have holes on the bottom to let the roots spread. I have no idea if these new plants will come with plastic pots but I dont think so.

Help me out here. Should I use plastic pots, fabric pots or just try to place these new plants in between the rocks with no pot? Kitty litter or maybe try Aquascape potting media?

I generally like using plastic pots (plants can escape/burrow through the fabric pots) and submerging them into the pond margin, though some are fine to let loose and let the fish eat any overage. If these are for a bog, most can be set right into the pea gravel, with some monitoring of some. Of those on your list, I have forgetmenots both on the bank, trailing into the pond, as well as a floating net basket (to protect from the koi). I have arrowhead and they do well as a marginal; mine got over 2' tall last year! I have some bog bean on order (it can be invasive, ask @addy1 so I plan on potting mine up when it gets here). Take some pics both right after you plant and later mid-summer, just to show the progress!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

My preference is to put marginal plants directly on the shelves, planted in pea gravel, with no pots at all. For me it's an esthetic thing (I don't like seeing pots in the pond) plus I think the free-running roots do a better job of absorbing the nutrients. It's worth the extra work of having to work a bit harder to keep things under control that tend to get carried away.

A couple of comments on your plant list - Aquatic mint has quite the reputation of being invasive. Keep a close eye on it. Same for your lizard tail - it might take it a season or two to really get going, but once it does it runs. Arrowhead will reseed itself quite vigorously, but the extras are easy to remove. In my experience, forget-me-not prefers moving water, & does best situated along a stream (although it will reseed outside of the pond & grow happily anywhere a chunk of it breaks off & happens to land) Your umbrella palm may or may not overwinter. I'd personally only rate it to a zone 8 with any reliability. It's really easy to overwinter as a houseplant though, so either keep that one potted up for ease of bringing it in, or just yank a chunk of it out & pot it up in the fall to bring indoors. That way you won't lose it in a harsh winter. Bog bean is interesting in habit - you can start it anchored on the shelf, but it just trails out across the water surface. If it wanders too far you can cut or break it off & move it where ever you want along the side. The roots are tenacious though, if they do get 'planted' in the rocks or gravel.

 

[Lisak1]

My answer is "don't". Pot lilies and lotuses, let everything else grow directly in or near the pond/bog. I went the pot everything route in the beginning and got tired of dealing with pots tipping over and having to worry about sinking them in the winter and hauling them back out in the spring. Naturalizing is the way to go in my mind.

 

[EricV]

I'm not familiar with all of these, but I have the bog bean and forget me not in my pond. I definitely wouldn't pot either of those. The forget-me-not can just be tucked in between rocks and then pulled and split as you like. By the end of the season you'll be throwing bushels of it away. Its roots do a great job of trapping material in the water.

 

[jmajid]

I have neglected having an abundance of plants for far too long and bought the following online. 1 of each,

Purple lobelia
Pink lobelia
Bog Bean
Bloody Dock
Dwarf Umbrella Palm
Aquatic Mint
Corkscrew Rush
Arrowhead
Aquatic Forget-me-not
Chinese Lizard tail

If I researched correctly then all the above plants are hardy and will hopefully survive through the cold winters in zone 7 and come back each spring. I currently have 3 hardy plants in the pond (for the past 2 years, Horsetail rush, variegated Sweetflag) using plastic pots that are wedged between the rocks and submerged just a bit over the top of the pot. The 3 plastic pots I have in there now have holes on the bottom to let the roots spread. I have no idea if these new plants will come with plastic pots but I dont think so.

Help me out here. Should I use plastic pots, fabric pots or just try to place these new plants in between the rocks with no pot? Kitty litter or maybe try Aquascape potting media?

if you dont mind me asking - where did you purchase these from online?
TIA

 

[addy1]

Purple lobelia
Pink lobelia
don't have either
Bog Bean
it takes time to get going, did best with some roots in the dirt, but does ok just in rocks on the edge of the pond. Easy to control, cut yank out
Bloody Dock
dont have
Dwarf Umbrella Palm
had it died
Aquatic Mint
have tons the bees love it in the fall, lots of flowers. Easy to control just yank roots are not deep
Corkscrew Rush
had disappeared
Arrowhead
grows just yank if it goes to far
Aquatic Forget-me-not
I let mine run free
Chinese Lizard tail
easy control, pull out of the bog (where mine is) spreads by runners

 

[anthony21078]

Thanks everyone. I do not have a bog. I didnt putchase yet but this is the site I am using. https://www.pondplantsonline.com/

The 3 plants I have now are all potted and wedged in between the rocks. When I oringally put these plants in the pond, I had to re-arrange the rocks to make the pots fit.

It seems like everyone is suggesting just to place the new plants in between the rocks and let them spread. I am fine with that but is that really ok to do? I thought these plants needed soil around the roots? Can I really just place them between these big rocks I have and they will be fine?

 

[BKHpondcritters]

All they really need is something to hold them in place while their roots get going & anchor them. What I usually do is use medium sized rocks to build a 'pocket' of sorts that I fill with pea gravel & then stick the plant in the middle. Sometimes I'll use river pebbles on top for esthetics, and/or use fist-sized rocks near the base of the plant to help stabilize it. Depends on the size of what I'm planting, really. Taller plants need more support while they're getting going than short plants that aren't as prone to blowing or falling over.

 

[Lisak1]

but is that really ok to do?

Well, if it's not, a lot of us are in BIG TROUBLE! haha!

No, they really don't need soil around the roots. You may find you have to get creative to get them started - for example I had to do a lot of propping with rocks and gravel to keep plants upright until they get started. Once they start growing though, they will be just fine. I find that most of my aquatic plants will create their own root ball of dirt and sediment that collects around the plant as it grows - another reason to have plant in the pond!

Having said that - there are plants I would either NOT trust out of the pot or I would watch very very carefully. For example - I see you have horsetail rush. That is a notorious runner. It's easy enough to yank out, but keep an eye on it or it will take over. And whatever you do, don't let it leap the side and get into the landscape. Other plants can grow to massive proportions - tries, some reeds and sedges, etc - so you just want to pay attention to how and where they are growing. And you want to be aware of your edges. A plant can put roots over the edge of the pond into the soil around the exterior and push your liner down in the process. I've had a few "leaks" that had to be resolved as a result.

Plants in pots are nowhere near as effective for filtration as are plants growing directly in the pond, for obvious reasons. Allowing them to naturalize will give you the most bang for your buck!

 

[anthony21078]

I wound up purchasing a pack of 4 inch pots online before I saw these replies but they are open/mesh style so I think the roots can spread.

I like @BKHpondcritters idea of the creating a small pocket with rocks. I think that would blend very well with my pond.

@Lisak1 I had a massive algae bloom last summer and when I asked the forum what to do, the general consensus was to add more plants. So here I am trying to add plants to filter the water. Hope this works

 

[addy1]

I asked the forum what to do, the general consensus was to add more plants. So here I am trying to add plants to filter the water

Can you tell we love plants and bogs full of plants?

 

[Lisak1]

"More plants" is basically my life motto... just ask my husband. I'd rather buy plants than just about anything... unless it's rocks, that is!

 

[Heruga]

Wow I learned a lot from this thread as I wanted to ask the same question. If you don’t mind me asking, I’ve heard that pea gravel(one from Home Depot vigoro brand?) has limestone in it and that you should not use limestone for plants and that it can alter the pH of the water. Is that true and should I stay away from Home Depot pea gravel? I don’t know if I really need to invest in those specialized aquatic gravel that is really expensive and not locally found.

 

[poconojoe]

Wow I learned a lot from this thread as I wanted to ask the same question. If you don’t mind me asking, I’ve heard that pea gravel(one from Home Depot vigoro brand?) has limestone in it and that you should not use limestone for plants and that it can alter the pH of the water. Is that true and should I stay away from Home Depot pea gravel? I don’t know if I really need to invest in those specialized aquatic gravel that is really expensive and not locally found.

I used river rock that I purchased in bulk from a local garden center. It was $35 (US) a cubic yard.
I used 3 cubic yards for my bog.
I believe they will sell it by the bucket if you don't need so much.
Way cheaper than buying bags from the local big box store.