PLAIN PLANT TALK FOR NEWBIES

[sissy]

Adavisus I can not understand why I have no luck with water hyacinth or water lettuce in my pond even in the floating ring .To keep them safe from koi ,I take them out and put them in a concrete mixing tub and they grow great .My pond is in full sun and I here they like sun but they shrivel and turn brown .Is it because there is not any nutrients in the pond to help them .I know in the concrete tub I put lava rock on the bottom and nothing but water and the plants and yet they grow healthy and the water is always crystal clear in the tub .There really can't be any nutrients in there for them and the tub is in full sun also



this is a pic of them in the concrete mixing tub

 

[sissy]

oh and the pump was just in there to keep the seals wet

 

[Shdwdrgn]

You know, I had miserable luck with hyacinths this year in my new pond. Same location as the old pond, so same conditions as far as light and water, and also the same fish. In previous years I have given away hyacinths by the bucketful starting in early July, but this year they barely even kept growing. I'll have to see what happens next year, but I am wondering if it has anything to do with my new pond having faster-moving water? Its so hard to tell with some plants...

 

[sissy]

Faster moving water I would think would help them .I was wondering if there was not enough nutrients in the water to help them grow .Maybe the waters to clean

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Yeah I'm hoping for much better luck next year. I'm not one for water changes, so there should be plenty of nutrients in the water, especially after a Winter of leftovers sitting in the bottom.

 

[adavisus]

If you measure the nitrates at 0, that might indicate there is insufficient fertility Sissy

I have heard of folk noticing, on well filtered ponds that plants struggle

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://swglist.wordpress.com/

 

[sissy]

I'm maybe thinking that could be what goes on but thought since I have 13 fish and 2 are over 2 feet long and all the rest are 8 to 10 inches long that it could not be too clean . I can get water lilies to grow but not any floating plants .I have 3 strawberry and cream plants and 2 elephat ear and a creeping jenny growing in the pond and they grow fine .I have 4 water lilies

 

[fishin4cars]

Fishin -- sounds like a good list to get me started!

How do most of you guys obtain your plants [initially, at least]? Local retailers, mail order, from friends? I haven't looked into this yet, so don't know what my local options are.

Be sure and check the gardening expo in the spring around the Alexandria area, there is a HUGE plant exhibition and you can buy plants from the wholesalers at wholesale prices. There are farms after farms that raise all kinds of plants, we found drawf japanese maples and lots of water plants at a nursury off the road that most of the farms were on. the farm didn't sell the water plants wholesale but they were selling them for really low prices and many were lots nicer than most pond stores I have seen in this area.
Hopefully if all goes well we will be starting the new business and will be trying to buy some plants wholesale and be available this spring.

 

[Mmathis]

FISHIN -- Will do. Thanks for the heads-up!