Just a few issues with the pond

Aaron S

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This past spring I did an extreme makeover on my pond. I added a cascading waterfall, a skimmer and increased the pond size to 1,500 gallons. The filter that came with the waterfall wasn't worth a darn. So as a temporary quick fix, I made a mini bog. I got a 5 gallon bucket and put it in a hole next to the pond. Then I put in a liner and connected it to the pond. Then I took a small fountain pump and put it in my skimmer and routed the hose to the bottom of the bucket and filled the bucket with pea gravel. It is not the best solution but it has been keeping my water clear. Had a bad outbreak of string algae earlier this month. Scooped it all out and have not had any problems since. Twice this year I had batches of tad poles. Last year I had one batch and this year it was two. So now when I walk around near the pond, I see baby frogs everywhere! The hose that goes from my main pump to the waterfall keeps leaking on me. I think that it is just breaking down from the sun but it is only 4 months old. I'm going to replace it all and be done with it. My biggest problem has been plants. I have 1 hardy lily that I got from Lowes about 5 years ago. Since then when I get new plants they always fail to grow, I have tried getting seeds and they also fail. I just don't have the extra money to pay the cost of pond plants in my area. For example this one place was wanting $45 for a lily that looked mostly dead. Does anyone know where I can get some plants?
Thank you
 
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Do you know any other ponders in your area? Generally people who have been doing Ponds for a while have plants they are eager to share.

But the first question you need to figure out is why your plants that you do have aren't growing. What happens to them? Do you have fish?
 

Aaron S

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No I have not met many other ponder in my area. The ones that I do know have ponds that are more algae than water. They have no filtration, no pumps just stagnant puddles of water in their yards.
Yes I do have comet goldfish in the pond. The lily that I have grows pretty well, I just snip the dead pads off and apply fertilizer.
Generally if I can get a plant that is already growing I have no trouble with it. The seeds, tubulars and such I just can't get going. I follow the directions on the packages with no luck.
 
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Ah... every gardener's lament. It's frequently POSSIBLE to grow from seeds, roots, or tubers, but it's not always EASY. We bought some hostas that were root starts - they grew, but they've taken three years to get any decent size on them. So it's probably not you, if that makes you feel any better.

What kinds of things have you tried from seed?

And watch this site and others - people here will offer up plants for the shipping cost when they are thinning. More likely to happen in spring or fall though.
 
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Yeah, those are all tough to start from seed. Tubers or clumps are the way to go for all three. If you check you local garden center or big box stores right now, you may find great deals on lilies and irises. We got a bunch last week for 3 for a $1. They look pretty rough, but they will be fine next year.
 

sissy

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Iris can get out of hand no matter what variety .I use a small stock tank 50 gallons and have 2 of them with lava rock and plants in them .But I have to trim the roots on the plants often .I just rebuilt my pond in March
 

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You didn't really touch much on the specifics on how you are planting anything. For example, depending on the source, most lilies need to be started in 24" or less of water, then moved to deeper water after they've grown for a few years. Irises are marginals, so you want to plant them so the crown of the root is above water (although I do have some which have grown underwater as part of a cluster). Have you tried any rushes or local plants?

Also check with your nurseries and see if anyone is familiar with marginal plants (these grow right at the water's edge, like the irises). I have been directed to gallon pots full of irises which sold for a few dollars but were actually marginals that have done fantastic around my pond. I also found out calla lilies are marginals and grow great with their roots only half submerged (or less), but the bulbs won't survive the Winter in my area. When something gets marked as a "pond" plant, it immediately becomes a specialty item and the price doubles. I can buy a little 3" container of snake-grass with a few stems for $11, or I can go dig up the same thing from the ditches, and its the same amount of driving for either source.

Also if you are interested, you can adjust the climate of the soil around your pond. For example, strawberries don't do well here because it's usually too dry, however I found that growing a groundcover of moneywort (creeping jenny) will create a barrier that holds water right at the surface. Growing the moneywort and strawberries together, my berries get lots of moisture and pop up above the moneywort when they are ready. Another gardening trick is called three-sisters -- you plant corn, squash, and pole beans together. The squash leave shade the ground so that the corn roots can grow strong, and the pole beans grow up the cornstalks. By combining plants with different traits, you create your own localized climate that allows things to grow which wouldn't naturally flourish in your region.
 

Aaron S

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Thanks a lot about all of the information. It looks like I have a lot more to learn about which plants will work and which will not.
 

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