Planting Plants

[USMC Ponder]

So I am wondering what is the preferred method for potting plants such as cattails, lilies, etc.

What type of container i.e. basket, terra cotta pot, etc.

What type of medium i.e. soil, clay, etc.

I used baskets in the past and before my cattails died off their roots just broke through the baskets. I'd like to keep lilies and fortunately my Koi never have been the problem but the 9"in red earred slider is. She seems to lop the pads off the stems, rather annoying since she doesnt eat them.

Also does anyone use Anacharis? If so do you plant it? Does it winter over? I've tried but it seems to just wither away over the summer.

Also any suggestions on hardy plants for my zone (7a/b). I would take locally from the environment but the environment only seems to have horse tails if lucky and cattails in some places. Not a lot in the way of moisture here.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I would take locally from the environment

Never do that. Natural habitat has enough problems as it is. Plant poachers make things even worse. Taking as few as one or two plants can destroy the future of the entire population. Plus, it's illegal.


I plant my marginals in typical plastic pots sold at most garden centers, gallon-sized or so. My lilies are in the same kind of pot, but they're about 3 gallons each. All of my marginals are planted in dirt and the lilies are planted in rocks.

Cattails are typically a bit aggressive and can quickly outgrow any pot. Mine were never very aggressive, but they ultimately bored me. I replaced them with sedges. More visually attractive, in my opinion. I liked their shorter size, too. I kept dividing them and now I have them planted all around the pond.

 

[cas]

Anacharis does not need to be planted. I just threw weighted clumps into the pond. I had no luck over wintering mine, but many people have luck keeping it through the winter

I use the mesh baskets filled with pea gravel for planting blue flag iris along the side of the pond.

 

[Telion]

None of this is first hand experience but Siberica or blue iris seems to do well in that zone. As well as purple and white irises.day lily's thrive in this some but I have never tried them in a bog. @JBtheExplorer I appreciate your passion for the environment and keeping things natural. Do you know if there is yet a plant swap thread on here I know a lot of people thin their bogs annually it would be coil to have a thread for plant trading.

 

[addy1]

I had no luck over wintering mine, but many people have luck keeping it through the winter

Cas I have some in very shallow water collections in the stream. It freezes solid and comes back every spring. I have more of it in the lotus tub, it too freezes up and comes back.

In the fish filled ponds it does not survive except pieces here and there the fish eat it up.

Wonder why yours doesn't.

 

[cas]

Mine turn to mush over the winter.

 

[addy1]

I never pay attention to it over winter, I do think it shrinks down. Let me take a look in the small stream water collection see if it mush. If it does turn to mush it always grows back.

 

[USMC Ponder]

So no pirating from local environment. Check

I've done the mesh basket with pea gravel with plants. Doesn't seem to work too well. I think the pea gravel doesn't retain enough nutrients?
I've bought plants from the local nursery. The only place that sells plants for ponds but they are on the pricier side. I suppose I could go online. Is there any online plant businesses recommended?

 

[warren]

So I am wondering what is the preferred method for potting plants such as cattails, lilies, etc.

What type of container i.e. basket, terra cotta pot, etc.

What type of medium i.e. soil, clay, etc.

I used baskets in the past and before my cattails died off their roots just broke through the baskets. I'd like to keep lilies and fortunately my Koi never have been the problem but the 9"in red earred slider is. She seems to lop the pads off the stems, rather annoying since she doesnt eat them.

Also does anyone use Anacharis? If so do you plant it? Does it winter over? I've tried but it seems to just wither away over the summer.

Also any suggestions on hardy plants for my zone (7a/b). I would take locally from the environment but the environment only seems to have horse tails if lucky and cattails in some places. Not a lot in the way of moisture here.

I planted my cattails in a large sump pump tub it is almost as deep as my pond and almost 20 inches wide an thick enough that the cattails have not cracked it . They have been in there for 5years produced catkins every year and this year will be the first year I need to thin it out.

 

[Mmathis]

I have a small bog (it’s the watering hole for my box turtles) connected to the pond. The plants in there are just bare root, in the gravel. I also have a lot of marginals around the pond. I have a deep shelf on the pond and it’s stacked with large rocks. I have the various marginals tucked in between the rocks so they look kinda natural. They just grow there, supported by the rocks, but no pots or soil. The roots end up going wherever. I haven’t had any problems so far. I also have water lilies. They are in pots of kitty litter, a foot or two above the bottom of the pond (sitting on crates). My anacharis is filling up the bottom of the pond. I just toss it in and it sinks. Have used weights in the past until I realized that it will stay down on its own.

 

[Telion]

So no pirating from local environment. Check

I've done the mesh basket with pea gravel with plants. Doesn't seem to work too well. I think the pea gravel doesn't retain enough nutrients?
I've bought plants from the local nursery. The only place that sells plants for ponds but they are on the pricier side. I suppose I could go online. Is there any online plant businesses recommended?

I was thinking about this too in terms ofnno fish to provide nutrition or food for the bog plants, furthermore no pond yet, but I had to get the plants in the ground. I have bought seeds online but am yet to try to grow them they are stratifying right now. I have grown a few plants successfully but it seems rhizomes are the way to go if you can't get a full fledge plant. This is why I am really pushing a plant swap thread. This gives people a chance to share what they don't need at ni additional.cost and a plus to the environment for not pulling from exxisting landscape or nature areas. Want some irises ?

 

[adavisus]

Anacharis is touch and go in a cold winter, it barely copes with 30's waters. Can easily be confused with the more cold tolerant elodea. In warmish waters anacharis is a superb underwater foliage, rooting itself in where it can, don't be surprised if it is a bad winter and it becomes a bit pathetic

Oh, you will find plenty of hardy plants to choose between among the pond plants, which ones are best for you can be a tricky choice

Over the years I've tried and photographed most of the better pond plants, mostly hardies, you can find photos of them here

http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/

 

[Mmathis]

@adavisus Do you have some tips for telling the difference between anacharis and elodea?

 

[USMC Ponder]

Problem I currently have with plants is not so much the Koi but the red earred slider. In addition to what I asked and I suspect a long shot but is there a way to prevent my her from eating the plants.

I have some pickerel, hardy lilies and dwarf cattails but current in the filter since the turtle likes to munch on them. Even say the turtle munching on normal common cattails I have in the pond itself yesterday. Had to put bricks around it just to keep the turtle hopefully at bay.

 

[Mmathis]

@USMC Ponder I have box turtles, so can’t give advice for how to handle your RES + plants problem. But, from reading about others’ experiences, I have come to the conclusion that keeping RES’s in a pond can present issues very similar to those encountered by koi-keepers who try to have plants: EVERY SITUATION IS DIFFERENT, and what works for one, may not work for another. What that means is that you may want to do some research, may have to experiment, and be open to the possibility of making compromises. A lot of what I do with my boxies comes as a result of observing them, and trying to adjust their habitat to fit their needs. I try to grow plants in the habitat that the turtles can use as “forage” when they want something to snack on.

For example, your koi don’t bother your plants. For many ponders, this is an exception, and koi keepers are usually trying to come up with ways to have plants AND koi. Some can have both. Some can’t.

I looked up some info on RES’s. They are omnivores, and their diet [should] consist of approx. 50% protein (while my boxies, also omnivores, should only have about 20-30% protein in their diets). It looks like RES’s can and will eat just about any vegetation available to them, though they do have preferences. One of the sites I looked at talked about offering them prepared veggies that you can float on the pond. You just have to be sure you pick up any uneaten foods. I will tag another member here @Marshall who keeps turtles and maybe he can give you some practical advice. But I would suggest that you Google as much info as you can on the feeding habits and natural environment of the RES. Experiment with [as you have already mentioned doing] ways to corral the turtle [good luck with that, though — they are climbers, diggers, and escape artists]. Find out which plants they are more likely to avoid. Find out what they prefer — and maybe plant an area of the pond specifically with things that yours likes to eat. And be sure to offer plenty of protein-based foods, such as floating “turtle” sticks. Maybe if they are adequately sated, they will be more likely to leave the plants alone.