Getting closer....

[JenH]

Sissy, that is just crazy that something took off with your plants! I would never have guessed that could be a problem!

PondLover, I am keeping the lotus in a pot. Have a feeling that could get ahead of me real quick planted in my pond bottom. I thought about planting it near the pond, but decided it would feel more natural to have it in the pond. Plus it will be great for disguising some of that liner I have showing above the waterline.

Addy, your lotus pond looks really nice, bet it's just gorgeous when they are flowering. I went to Tractor Supply today and got a rubber feed pot to use for my lotus. It looks similar to what they use at the other pond place. It's really thick rubber, so I know it won't be able to break it later on. I was thinking of sort of cutting the other pot away from the lotus and moving it, dirt and all to the center of the new much bigger pot. Keeping the soil from the current pot and the plant exactly as they are, not dividing or anything. I was thinking if I did it this way I wouldn't be disturbing the roots or tuber. Then I could use the kitty litter to fill in around the soil from the original pot. Right now, I can't submerge the pot at all because the plant itself is still a few inches lower then the top of the pot, I have to keep it on the flat rock I used to create my koi cave, with the pot actually being above the water. Then I put water in the pot until the leaves were floating. Still several inches to go before the pot is full of water to be able to put it deeper. If I were able to move it now, I would be able to put it in it's permanent place and it would have plenty of room to grow compared to the current pot. So what do you think? Is that still a bad idea and I should wait till fall? Was also thinking if I do it now I can add osmocote the the kitty litter I add in which should be a good thing, right?

Don't Ask, I assumed the monkey flower would be free. I have gotten free starts from there before. But not with this employee, it was already after she dug it out and then rang it up and told me the total that I realized she was charging me regular price for a marginal. The picture I posted was from their pond on their grounds though. The start she gave me was no where near that big. I wish! My start has 1 fullgrown flowering stalk, and 2 more about half size and what looked to be a decent set of roots.

 

[CountryEscape]

Jen, always fun to get a plant from the edge of an existing pond, though, even if you had to pay for it! My garden center has a pretty nice pond, but it's pretty shallow. They put some small koi in it this year, but they won't grow much, not much depth. The goldfish lived from last year, so it must be about 2' deep at least, but doesn't look to be more than that, although I may be mistaken, it may look more shallow than it is.
Love the stone in memory of your cat. Very cute!
Keep me posted on your lotus. The one I have still living is called a "bowl" lotus, as it does not get as large as the standard plant. It's sad, cause I wanted the standard size, but she replaced the one that died with this, and at least it's growing! Big mistake, buying them when I did, which was over a month ago, so we both should listen to Addy and not mess with them. The way you are talking about moving yours, though, may work.

 

[JenH]

I think sometimes looks can be deceiving. The place I go doesn't seem to have very deep ponds either. Just really big diameter with lots of rocks and landscaping! They overwinter some really large koi in there too.

The one I got is not as big a variety as some apparently either. Considered a medium sized lotus. I'm not sure why it matters your pond size compared to the lotus size when you are keeping it in a pot, but the lady said the larger ones were to big for my pond. Hubby and I were talking about it last night and we think we can pull this off if we are carefull. The pot my lotus is in right now is very thin plastic. I can bend it, maybe even break it with my hands. So we are thinking if we use a box cutter to separate the bottom from the sides put the whole thing in the new pot and then lift of fthe sides of the old pot it should go in completely undisturbed. Only thing I can't find info on is how much osmocote to use......

 

[JenH]

Stopped by PetSmart today to have my water tested. All is good there. Thought I'd let ya'all know, my store had these TopFin Preplanted Black Gamecock Louisiana Iris on Sale for $5.47. You just open th bag, drop and grow, kind of like the water lilys at big box stores. They are not in a pot, just a mesh bag with some rocks to make it sink, so I'm guessing it will just grow through the the mesh as it gets bigger.

 

[addy1]

I use around 1/4 cup per lotus, then put in tabs off and on all summer. Maybe put the pot in the new pot, have the new clay surrounding it. Stick you hand down the side and slice the pot, keep doing until you can pull it up in pieces, then reach under and pull out the bottom of the pot. The dirt around the roots will stay somewhat stable this way.

 

[CountryEscape]

Good idea, ladies! I think you will get it moved, Jen. You have a plan, and Addy's plan is a good one as well.
If anyone finds any of those Japanese irises on sale anywhere, I'd like to know about that! They are really unique looking irises, and would like to have a few different colors, then let them multiply.

 

[JenH]

Well, I got the lotus repotted. It went pretty well. Only thing is I didn't put any rocks on top of the clay after I was done and put it in the pond. Figured since I have it pretty close to the surface for now it would be fine. Till I got up this morning and my pond was all murky and awful looking, then I saw the frogs hopping in it. UGH!!! Now, I have to climb back in the pond to get to the darn thing to put some river rock over the top of it. Yesterday when I was in the pond my huge black goldfish wouldn't leave me alone. I swear he thought I was supposed to be dinner!! Nevermind too that I accidentally grabbed him when pulling out some algae and he almost gave me a heart attack!

Now this morning I totally overflowed my pond! I turned the hose on to top it off from evaporation loss. Probably had about an inch to fill. Forgot about it, came inside got the twins some breakfast, made me some eggs, ate, then went back outside. Water everywhere. Luckily no real harm done, since I have those big rocks the fish can't swim out. Although I did learn that my water level could be much higher, how will it effect my skimmer if I keep the level a little higher? It looks a lot better at this level as far as the visible liner goes I know that even though I overflowed it to above the skimmer door it all still works and water is going in to my pump. There is no way on earth I could convince hubby to raise the skimmer box. I think he'd bury me in the pond if I ask him to do anymore work out there! LOL

Lastly, 2 people recommended to me that because I have full sun all day I should put pond dye in the water to shield the sun from the algae to kill it off. Apparently my options are black, brown or blue. What do you guys think of this? I've never seen a dyed pond before other then like on hospital or golf course landscapes and those are usually big and blue. It looks nice there, but I'm worried in my little pond it would just look like a big toilet. Also worried that if I color the water I would no longer be able to see to the bottom anymore, losing visibility of my fish. I kinda think the black would look most natural, but won't that defeat the purpose of trying to achieve clear water??

 

[j.w]

Had to laugh about you grabbing the fish,lol!
And yes I have learned also that you don't ask your DH to redo something that he worked very hard at fixing just perfect the first time. You live w/ it,lol!
I've never used that pond dye stuff but have heard that it turns hands and maybe other things the color of it..........yikes!

 

[don't ask]

haha.. hey Jen maybe your goldie was flirting with you... i heard rumors, never googled, but dye doesn't stop or kill the algae...maybe slows it down.. i might take a pass unless you hear elsewise

 

[callingcolleen1]

I've read in my favorite pond book by Helen Nash with Steve Stroupe (very good book on plants by the way) that at Long wood Gardens in Pennsylvania they use a "black water dye" and by the look of the pictures of these huge Victoria's, which are like floating pads that are 8 feet across with flowers, that the pond dye look really good from what I can see of the picture. I have seen some people use the blue dyes, but the black water be better I think. You don't have to use much, see how dark it goes, and just darken it at bit. My pond gets naturally darkened this time of year cause of the caterpiller dung, and it looks really good, water still clear, can see very well, but water has a dark hue. The dye won't last long, so if you don't like it it will naturally lighten up in a few days. Here a picture from last week when the caterpillers were at there peak, and water was quite dark, but the colors of the fish showed up really nice with the natural black dye I get from caterpillers. This will give you an idea of what the black water will look like....

 

[CountryEscape]

Haha, Colleen, that koi is liking your toes!
I would not use the dye. If you want clear water that you can see through, you will have to deal with the algae in another way. The whole idea of the dye is so the sun cannot get through the water, right, so if the sun cannot penetrate the dyed water, neither will your eyes. At least in my opinion, that's how it's going to work. I've seen blue dyed ponds, you cannot see past the top of the water. Period. If you want to try it, put some pond water in a large tub and put some dye in. Again, you're dying the water, so the clarity is going down the toilet.
My water was VERY murky, almost brown, could not see down 6", could not see the fish at all unless they were in the top 12", so I know it's frustrating to not be able to see the bottom. Your problem is the algae. I say if you're concerned about the algae, then use the peroxide like I did on the edges. Lower your water, pour some peroxide on a sponge and wipe it full strength on the sides where the algae is growing. If your stuff is growing on the top 6" like mine was, it will be a WAYYYY easier fix than using dye.
Also, is your skimmer inside the pond, with the liner totally around it, or outside with the liner glues to the front opening? My skimmers are both inside the liner, and when I want to raise them, I put a rock, under them. Voila, presto chango! If your skimmer is that way, just shove a flat rock under it and it will raise it to the level you want. Nothing permanent, if you don't like it, remove the rock.

 

[taherrmann4]

Well, I got the lotus repotted. It went pretty well. Only thing is I didn't put any rocks on top of the clay after I was done and put it in the pond. Figured since I have it pretty close to the surface for now it would be fine. Till I got up this morning and my pond was all murky and awful looking, then I saw the frogs hopping in it. UGH!!! Now, I have to climb back in the pond to get to the darn thing to put some river rock over the top of it. Yesterday when I was in the pond my huge black goldfish wouldn't leave me alone. I swear he thought I was supposed to be dinner!! Nevermind too that I accidentally grabbed him when pulling out some algae and he almost gave me a heart attack!

Maybe they liked the hair on your legs.

Now this morning I totally overflowed my pond! I turned the hose on to top it off from evaporation loss. Probably had about an inch to fill. Forgot about it, came inside got the twins some breakfast, made me some eggs, ate, then went back outside. Water everywhere. Luckily no real harm done, since I have those big rocks the fish can't swim out. Although I did learn that my water level could be much higher, how will it effect my skimmer if I keep the level a little higher? It looks a lot better at this level as far as the visible liner goes I know that even though I overflowed it to above the skimmer door it all still works and water is going in to my pump. There is no way on earth I could convince hubby to raise the skimmer box. I think he'd bury me in the pond if I ask him to do anymore work out there! LOL

How high your water can go will depend on the type of skimmer you have. For example I can not raise my pond water level much more than a 1/2" b/c the water will then flow over the handle part in my skimmer and not through the skimmer basket basically making it somewhat pointless at having it. Not sure if this makes sense.

Lastly, 2 people recommended to me that because I have full sun all day I should put pond dye in the water to shield the sun from the algae to kill it off. Apparently my options are black, brown or blue. What do you guys think of this? I've never seen a dyed pond before other then like on hospital or golf course landscapes and those are usually big and blue. It looks nice there, but I'm worried in my little pond it would just look like a big toilet. Also worried that if I color the water I would no longer be able to see to the bottom anymore, losing visibility of my fish. I kinda think the black would look most natural, but won't that defeat the purpose of trying to achieve clear water??

I would not add the dye. My pond used to sit in full sun for years until the trees got bigger. I would use a lot of pond plants and this helped dramatically. I still get string algae in my falls and creek but my water has never been green always clear.

 

[JenH]

Hi Everyone! Sorry, we've been out of town since Friday visiting friends. I was told that the water dye only blocks certain spectrums of the light, mostly the red and orange which is why it helps algae but you can still see through it. Still never seen it in person though. While we were away temps here jumped back up again and when I got home you can sure tell the algae was happy cause it's really growing good now. Ugh! Although, on the plus side so are lots of other plants! My pink/yellow columbine are blooming like crazy, my beebalm has several blooms and more to come, my russian sage and hollyhock all have buds now and so do my daylillies in the bog. There are several buds coming above water on my lilies, and it looks like my lotus has sent up some new leaves since I repotted it! Yea!!! It's really startin to look like a garden out here, I'm so excited! Ooohh, I hope they all bloom when DH's brothers are here! They get in town Wednesday! Also while I was gone one of my goldfish that was a baby from last year completely changed colors! Crazy! He was a black goldy like that really big one I posted pics of 4 days ago, now he is almost all a light dirty orange color except for some black spots down his back still. Isn't that so weird?!

Now back to this damn algae! I don't have any trees, so it will never be in the shade. The algae is growing everywhere not just near the top. In fact it is by far worse over the whole bottom of the pond. Peroxide has only helped on the waterfall, but it is not lasting, usually it just comes back after 2 days and it doesn't phase the algae in the pond at all. My barley bales aren't helping either. Man I swear this algae is on steroids! Colleen where did you see pics of those gardens?

P.S. Tmann my legs aren't hairy

 

[callingcolleen1]

I got them from this book that sits on my kitchen table quite a bit, it called "Plants for Water Gardens" by Helen Nash with Steve Stroupe. I got the book like twelve years ago or so, and it's now my "pond bible" and I love the pictures and and good information on plants.

 

[CountryEscape]

Jen, I have string algae in my stream and in the goldfish plant bog. Funny, but the koi pond has no string algae at this time ... knock on wood! That's where it was super bad in March when we got that 80 degree weather early March, and then I poured the peroxide on the edges of the pond. Now, if I thought it would solve your problem, I would tell you to do it. But, I sure love my crystal clear water, and would be very disappointed if I went back to the murky water. I pick out the algae almost daily, it's therapeudic to me, actually, and I love it, not the algae, but tending to my pond.
But, I wanted to mention that I have a carpet of algae on the bottom of my koi pond, and it's starting on the goldfish pond. That is NOT string algae, it's a different type, and I think it's somewhat beneficial for the good bacteria to "live" in. Someone said not to net the bottom too often as the beneficial bacteria grows in the algae. What I have on the bottom is green algae, but not really string algae. I think it's called carpet algae. It's more fluffy, instead of stringy.
If you used the peroxide on your stream, did you leave the stream turned off for a while? That will help kill the algae if you can leave it off for a day or maybe 2. I sure hope your problem starts coming under control, and with your plants really taking off, I'd say you're heading in the right direction!