pond plant help

[Waterbug]

Where do you get the hanging baskets from?

Build them. I once used plastic rain gutter. Just a loop of plastic strapping (plumbing dept) screwed to the top of the wall and the gutter slips into the loops. Not very deep but worked for Pennywort. Make bags from shade cloth with pea garvel inside and planted the Pennywort in there.

But pretty much any container could be used. They make foam pots that would float to some degree. Or even make a floating island for plants, or buy one. Google "pond floating island".

 

[cheeseyfella]

awesome thanks everyone, loads of ideas, can't wait to get creative. Got some ideas for plants too, was thinking of aquatic Iris in some floaters, Hornwort and maybe a hardy lilly in baskets.
Thanks everyone.

 

[CountryEscape]

Try a lily in the bottom of your pond. I have koi that will be 3 years in my pond this spring, and they have never messed with my lilies. I have probably 10 plants in pots in their pond, and they have never messed with any except the "native" lily I found floating in a local lake. I put rocks on top of that tuber and they have not messed with it again. Find a lily that blooms really well and you'll only need one. They spread nicely, create lots of shade and places for the little fishes to hide, too. All the babies hide in and among the lily leaf stems. I know others say their koi destroy their lilies, but I've never had a problem. The key with lilies, since they are so lightweight, is to weigh down the tubers in the pot. So, watch on here (I'll be one to do this) and there will be tons of lily tubers offered for sale, or people like me, to share for postage only, with fellow ponders! If you are interested, I have a really beautiful Georgia peach colored lily I got from Addy, that has multiplied very well, and when I pull the lily pots this spring (in a month or so) I'll be separating them and giving away the extras. PM me if you're interested.
Not really sure what you can use to keep the babies from going over the edge into the skimmer. They will just have to learn how to stay away from that, so put your plants away from the skimmer, to encourage them to stay away. Good luck!

 

[sissy]

I wish I could say the same but aggie and bert my 2 biggest koi are rooters and destroy everything they see and can get there play on .I have BAD fish.I like the rain gutter idea also nice and long and cheap .

 

[cheeseyfella]

Try a lily in the bottom of your pond. I have koi that will be 3 years in my pond this spring, and they have never messed with my lilies. I have probably 10 plants in pots in their pond, and they have never messed with any except the "native" lily I found floating in a local lake. I put rocks on top of that tuber and they have not messed with it again. Find a lily that blooms really well and you'll only need one. They spread nicely, create lots of shade and places for the little fishes to hide, too. All the babies hide in and among the lily leaf stems. I know others say their koi destroy their lilies, but I've never had a problem. The key with lilies, since they are so lightweight, is to weigh down the tubers in the pot. So, watch on here (I'll be one to do this) and there will be tons of lily tubers offered for sale, or people like me, to share for postage only, with fellow ponders! If you are interested, I have a really beautiful Georgia peach colored lily I got from Addy, that has multiplied very well, and when I pull the lily pots this spring (in a month or so) I'll be separating them and giving away the extras. PM me if you're interested.
Not really sure what you can use to keep the babies from going over the edge into the skimmer. They will just have to learn how to stay away from that, so put your plants away from the skimmer, to encourage them to stay away. Good luck!

Thank you for the offer, I am definitely interested, I googled the lily and the flower looks beautiful, I think it would be a great addition to my pond, let me know how much you want for one, can you take Paypal?.
Are they easy to look after and replant?

 

[cheeseyfella]

I wish I could say the same but aggie and bert my 2 biggest koi are rooters and destroy everything they see and can get there play on .I have BAD fish.I like the rain gutter idea also nice and long and cheap .

I have a feeling my koi will eat everything I don't want them to, and leave things like mosquito lava alone.

 

[cheeseyfella]

Build them. I once used plastic rain gutter. Just a loop of plastic strapping (plumbing dept) screwed to the top of the wall and the gutter slips into the loops. Not very deep but worked for Pennywort. Make bags from shade cloth with pea garvel inside and planted the Pennywort in there.

But pretty much any container could be used. They make foam pots that would float to some degree. Or even make a floating island for plants, or buy one. Google "pond floating island".

Do you have pictures of what you built?
On another note, I was reading some old posts and found info you wrote about pond vac's very inspiring, I am attempting to make a simple device to clean the fine matter off the bottom of my pond using an old pump and stuff I had lying around. Thank you for the inspiration, i love the idea of making something instead of buying it, and I am glad that I am not the only one.

 

[CountryEscape]

Lots of us are DIY'ers on here, so you're in the right place.
I would just want postage, and for one tuber, it would not be very much. They are VERY easy to separate and replant, and they bloom profusely. It's my favorite lily, and when I separate them, I want to give them back to ponders on here, as that's where I got it! Send me a private message, that's the only way that I won't forget about sending you a lily in a month or so. I'm very forgetful otherwise!
And, if your koi go after it, then you will know. Be sure to plant it and put fairly large (3-4") rocks on top of the tuber, to discourage the koi from munching on it. I know I'm not the only one with koi that leave plants alone. Knock on wood, as this year several of my original koi are over 10", so they may begin causing havoc soon.

 

[cheeseyfella]

I will send you a PM now, thank you so much.
I have been looking at ways to plant lilies properly, what kind of container do you use, and what kind of depth should I place them at?

 

[CountryEscape]

To me they are very easy. I have 3.5 gallon plastic buckets that I get free from the local grocery store bakery department. The frosting comes in them. I use them, cut off the bottom 6" or so, and just use the bottom. Then, buy kitty litter, the plain (unscented) cheap pure clay. Don't get the clumping kind. It's in a bag, the cheapest there is! Just make sure the ingredients are one thing: clay. Put that in the pan about 4" deep. Place the tuber in the pan. I think I usually lay them on their side, with about 1-2" of clay on top of them. (total of 4"). Then the most important part, put rocks on top to discourage the koi from digging anything up. The koi like the roots, if I understand it correctly, but not the stems and leaves. Then, drop them into your pond, anywhere from 12-36" deep. If you put it more shallow at first, they will grow faster, and then you can drop them deeper as they grow. I think my lilies are all at about 12-18" deep, and a few deeper. If your pond is too deep and you want to put it in the middle, get a milk crate (you can buy them at Home Depot, Menards, etc.) and put the pot on top of that to make the lily not as deep. Another shelf to use would be the stackable plastic ones with the front partly cut out. Turn it over, and it's like a garage for the fish to hide inside. My koi love them!
The reason this is my favorite lily is not only the color is different (pink to peach, to pale yellow) but it usually has anywhere from 4-8 blooms at a time! Best bloomer I have in my ponds. I highly recommend it if you have room for only one lily. Also, it's a hardy, so no need to bring it out of the pond, just make sure it's deep enough that it won't freeze in the winter.

 

[cheeseyfella]

this is perfect, I have a good ledge around the pond that is at 18in deep so this would be perfect, talking of kitty litter, in one of the videos I watched they suggested using a kitty litter tray to plant the lily in, and put in one corner to allow sideways growth, looked interesting was probably going to have ago at this. they recommended a fertilizer, can't remember which one, but do you recommend fertilizer in with the water plants?

 

[CountryEscape]

Yep, I've learned when you plant your lily tuber, you put granular fertilizer (the bigger the middle number, the better ... i.e. 10-35-10 is good) in the bottom before the kitty litter. Then soak the litter so it makes a "mud", then put the tuber into the litter. Later, when you want to fertilize it, you can use the plant tabs made for ponds, but they are expensive. I've also learned that using tomato spikes are good (they are the high middle number again) or using the granular can be used by wrapping it in a paper towel, pushing it down into the kitty litter. The paper towel keeps it intact until it's in the litter, then slowly decomposes to allow the fertilizer to slowly release. Good time to fertilize after you pot them is after they are growing well, and water is warm, to promote more blooms.
If you get fertilizer into the water, that can cause algae blooms, so want to try to keep it contained in the litter, thus the spikes or paper towel wrapped granular. If you watch at the end of the season, you may find the lily fertilizer tablets on sale, if so, grab them up! They are small, easy to push into the pots during the summer, and proper numbers. Also, check them out when your stores have them (lily fertilizer tablets) to see then numbers they have, then look for similar numbers on fertilizer that is much cheaper. I bought my granular at the end of the season cheap, so I have a good supply for this year.
The kitty litter pan will work just fine. They say tuber type lilies and lotus like to grow "around", so that's why they recommend a round pan for them to be in. I would guess the litter pan would be rounded just fine for them to keep growing around. The problem with a square pot is that if the plant roots gets to a corner, it's as likely to go "up" rather than make the hard turn and keep growing around, and once the roots get out of the pot, they go nuts! Believe me, you want the tubers in a good solid growing pot. If it's flimsy, they will "break out" and cause havoc in your pond. The problem is that the roots will grow until they find another pot, and then root in there, and once they are rooted, it's very difficult to pull the plants apart if you want to move a pot. I've had all of the above happen, and as I always say, learning as I go.

 

[Waterbug]

Do you have pictures of what you built?

Sorry I don't. But here is the plastic strap I was talking about.

At 12 cents a foot it's cheap, strong, easy to work with and doesn't rot. Seems to hold up in UV fine.

On another note, I was reading some old posts and found info you wrote about pond vac's very inspiring, I am attempting to make a simple device to clean the fine matter off the bottom of my pond using an old pump and stuff I had lying around. Thank you for the inspiration, i love the idea of making something instead of buying it, and I am glad that I am not the only one.

I assume you found my DIY vacuum page, but here it is just in case. The Muck Mop is pretty simple, works well for what it does, just big stuff. The Silt Vac is more difficult to build and use. It takes some tweaking and practice.

 

[cheeseyfella]

Yep, I've learned when you plant your lily tuber, you put granular fertilizer (the bigger the middle number, the better ... i.e. 10-35-10 is good) in the bottom before the kitty litter. Then soak the litter so it makes a "mud", then put the tuber into the litter. Later, when you want to fertilize it, you can use the plant tabs made for ponds, but they are expensive. I've also learned that using tomato spikes are good (they are the high middle number again) or using the granular can be used by wrapping it in a paper towel, pushing it down into the kitty litter. The paper towel keeps it intact until it's in the litter, then slowly decomposes to allow the fertilizer to slowly release. Good time to fertilize after you pot them is after they are growing well, and water is warm, to promote more blooms.
If you get fertilizer into the water, that can cause algae blooms, so want to try to keep it contained in the litter, thus the spikes or paper towel wrapped granular. If you watch at the end of the season, you may find the lily fertilizer tablets on sale, if so, grab them up! They are small, easy to push into the pots during the summer, and proper numbers. Also, check them out when your stores have them (lily fertilizer tablets) to see then numbers they have, then look for similar numbers on fertilizer that is much cheaper. I bought my granular at the end of the season cheap, so I have a good supply for this year.
The kitty litter pan will work just fine. They say tuber type lilies and lotus like to grow "around", so that's why they recommend a round pan for them to be in. I would guess the litter pan would be rounded just fine for them to keep growing around. The problem with a square pot is that if the plant roots gets to a corner, it's as likely to go "up" rather than make the hard turn and keep growing around, and once the roots get out of the pot, they go nuts! Believe me, you want the tubers in a good solid growing pot. If it's flimsy, they will "break out" and cause havoc in your pond. The problem is that the roots will grow until they find another pot, and then root in there, and once they are rooted, it's very difficult to pull the plants apart if you want to move a pot. I've had all of the above happen, and as I always say, learning as I go.

I'm going to get down the dollar store and pick some kitty liter and a tray in that video they one with sloped sides and rounded corners dollar store special but I will try to find a tough one to prevent breakout, my wife will think I have gone crazy, and my dog might think I am getting her a new toy. they planted the lily almost sideways so the roots were facing the empty part of the tray and the leaves were facing into the corner. is this good advice? I should find the video and post a link really.

Sorry I don't. But here is the plastic strap I was talking about.

At 12 cents a foot it's cheap, strong, easy to work with and doesn't rot. Seems to hold up in UV fine.

I assume you found my DIY vacuum page, but here it is just in case. The Muck Mop is pretty simple, works well for what it does, just big stuff. The Silt Vac is more difficult to build and use. It takes some tweaking and practice.

Yeah that is website, I am making some kind of silt vac, I have a pump that shreads smaller debris, and I have hooked it up to a 12in vacuum brush head, i have some clear tubing to see what is happening and I am discharging into a bucket with screen material in it, and a return hole. the idea is to vacuum the bottom of the pond, and screen the water before it returns to the pond clean. I am making the screen bucket now, trying to get a way to give as much screen surface area, and make it removable for cleaning. I will update as go on.

 

[cheeseyfella]

Yep, I've learned when you plant your lily tuber, you put granular fertilizer (the bigger the middle number, the better ... i.e. 10-35-10 is good) in the bottom before the kitty litter. Then soak the litter so it makes a "mud", then put the tuber into the litter. Later, when you want to fertilize it, you can use the plant tabs made for ponds, but they are expensive. I've also learned that using tomato spikes are good (they are the high middle number again) or using the granular can be used by wrapping it in a paper towel, pushing it down into the kitty litter. The paper towel keeps it intact until it's in the litter, then slowly decomposes to allow the fertilizer to slowly release. Good time to fertilize after you pot them is after they are growing well, and water is warm, to promote more blooms.
If you get fertilizer into the water, that can cause algae blooms, so want to try to keep it contained in the litter, thus the spikes or paper towel wrapped granular. If you watch at the end of the season, you may find the lily fertilizer tablets on sale, if so, grab them up! They are small, easy to push into the pots during the summer, and proper numbers. Also, check them out when your stores have them (lily fertilizer tablets) to see then numbers they have, then look for similar numbers on fertilizer that is much cheaper. I bought my granular at the end of the season cheap, so I have a good supply for this year.
The kitty litter pan will work just fine. They say tuber type lilies and lotus like to grow "around", so that's why they recommend a round pan for them to be in. I would guess the litter pan would be rounded just fine for them to keep growing around. The problem with a square pot is that if the plant roots gets to a corner, it's as likely to go "up" rather than make the hard turn and keep growing around, and once the roots get out of the pot, they go nuts! Believe me, you want the tubers in a good solid growing pot. If it's flimsy, they will "break out" and cause havoc in your pond. The problem is that the roots will grow until they find another pot, and then root in there, and once they are rooted, it's very difficult to pull the plants apart if you want to move a pot. I've had all of the above happen, and as I always say, learning as I go.

I can't find the video, I will just go with you recommend, it is obviously working very for you