Has anyone ever used lova rock for plants?

[Panzer13]

I live in a townhouse will a rather small outdoor space. I have built an above ground pond, 200 gallons, much like a raised planter box.
My next move will be to make three planter boxes inside of the pond box. This will serve a dual in that they will hide metal structural supports running across the pond and allow me to plant bog plant for better biological filtration.
I was thinking of making the planters out of double thick plastic screen door screen. This will be suspended inside the pond by hanging the screen by a treated lumber frame.
I was thinking of using lava rock, about the size of pea gravel, as a planting media. My thought was that the lava would be much lighter than regular gravel and put half the weight on the bag made out of the screen door netting.
Has anyone done anything like this before, or have thoughts on the idea?

 

[Angel]

I am not following what you are trying to do.

But with that aside I will give you my experience with lava rocks and hope it helps with your plans or others with other ideals.

they clog and are a pia to clean and they get sharp on there owen and not good for bogs and plant roots.

I hope this .05% info helps a touch.

 

[Gordo33]

You can go without either the pea gravel or lava rock. I attached yellow flag iris to a 1ft x 2 ft piece egg crate light diffusers . This sits in a 100 gal stock tank. 4 years ago I attached 13 plants with zip ties. It has exploded into this.

 

[Patfish]

All my plants are in lava rock. I also made a pouch that hangs from the side of the pond to put plants in, mine is a piece of liner and punched holes in it but it would be very similar to your screen one. It will work fine. If it doesn't, make it better later.

 

[Lisak1]

I think it would work - pond plants don't care about what they grow in as they get their nutrients from the water. They just need something to keep them stable, upright, and in place until they get going. Do you plan to have fish?

Sounds like a fun project!

 

[Panzer13]

All my plants are in lava rock. I also made a pouch that hangs from the side of the pond to put plants in, mine is a piece of liner and punched holes in it but it would be very similar to your screen one. It will work fine. If it doesn't, make it better later.

Nice to hear that someone else used this with success. Like I said the only reason for the lava rock is that it is lite.

 

[Panzer13]

I think it would work - pond plants don't care about what they grow in as they get their nutrients from the water. They just need something to keep them stable, upright, and in place until they get going. Do you plan to have fish?

Sounds like a fun project!

Yes I have 5 fish, 4 comets and a shubumkin. This whole venture started as a rain chain fountain that used a 35 gallon whisky barrel as a basin. I put four 29 cent gold fish to eat mosquito larva. The fish grew to 3", so I built an 80 gallon pond. They grew to 6" so now they have a 200 gallon pond. Which is all the room I have to give them. By the way the fountain is still their but now it is just used when we have a patio party.
The plan now is to incorporate plants. In my experience with aquarium fish the more you simulate a natural environment for them. The happier and healthier they are.
My question now is can I find plants for zone 8A that will not go dormant in winter and provide the pond with biological filtration and cover for the fish year round.
I have planted hornwort as an oxygenator, but from what I gather this will go mostly dormant in winter. The hardy dwarf lily will do the same.
Ferns do very well here and I assume would take some of the fish waste out of the water even in winter.
Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[Lisak1]

Does anyone have experience with this?

Hmmm... interesting question. I don't personally know of any aquatic plants that don't die back over winter, but I'm zone 5B. Do ferns grow all year round there? If so, I would definitely try them.

 

[j.w]

The Sedges you can buy for you garden will do well planted in water all year long. They can have their roots in water and the rest above. Water Hawthorne is a cool season bloomer and spreads it floating leaves over the surface of the pond.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aponogeton_distachyos

Sedge

 

[Panzer13]

Hmmm... interesting question. I don't personally know of any aquatic plants that don't die back over winter, but I'm zone 5B. Do ferns grow all year round there? If so, I would definitely try them.

It depends on the type of fern. Probably the most common is called a deer fern. They grow in the forest under the tree canopy. They stay green year round. This type of fern would be too large for my small pond.
Did a little more research on local ferns. The ones that are evergreen, as far as I gather will not go completely dormant in winter. Just slow down depending on the temp, much like our cold blooded fish friends.
Now all I have to do is find a smallish evergreen fern or two. Looks like a trip to a local nursery is in order.

 

[Panzer13]

The Sedges you can buy for you garden will do well planted in water all year long. They can have their roots in water and the rest above. Water Hawthorne is a cool season bloomer and spreads it floating leaves over the surface of the pond.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aponogeton_distachyos

Sedge

Cool, I think I have seen these at one of our local nurseries. Thanks j.w!

 

[ShawnInfirmity]

In addition to finding plants that are suitable for your zone you might come across some plants that are illegal to own in your state. At least the great state of Texas has outlawed water lettuce and water hyacinth among other invasive species. It makes finding pond plants that much harder when most of them are illegal..

 

[Panzer13]

In addition to finding plants that are suitable for your zone you might come across some plants that are illegal to own in your state. At least the great state of Texas has outlawed water lettuce and water hyacinth among other invasive species. It makes finding pond plants that much harder when most of them are illegal..

Yes I am finding this out ShawnInfirmity. Anacharis is an oxiginator commonly found in streams in my area. I can't order it on line because it is supposed to be an invasive species.