I have been offered a lot of hardy water lilies but am unsure if I should accept them. I need them to provide sun protection for an algae prone pond. The problem is, the donor pond has milfoil! I REALLY don't want to import milfoil into my pond. Is there any way that I can cleanse the lilies? Chlorine dip? I also wouldn't want to risk frog eggs coming my way. Advice, please.
should I accept these lilies?
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sissy
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I soak all my plants in peroxide and water and clean the roots good and after a day or 2 in that I transfer them to a tub with miracle grow and water for 2 weeks .
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Maybe you can get this stuff
http://www.lakerestoration.com/t-milfoil-control.aspx
and soak the lilies in it before you put them in your pond.
http://www.lakerestoration.com/t-milfoil-control.aspx
and soak the lilies in it before you put them in your pond.
Smaug
God makes perfect. I just dug the hole
Why so worried about milfoil? It's not gonna take over in a lined garden pond. I don't worry about frogs either,there would be no way for me to keep them from my pond.
If you have space to spare, a big tote, you could grow the lilies on where the waterlilies grow bare root and you can pick off anything suspicious that tries to start up. Only a matter of time before you are confident the bare root treatment has eliminated anything suspicious
Really? Why is that? If it can't take over in a lined pond, then that's great news. Please elaborate, Smaug.
Smaug
God makes perfect. I just dug the hole
To be more accurate I refer to the size of most lined ponds. Just net the stuff out, if you actually let some grow it would be a great way to export nutrients. I've tried to keep hornwort for that purpose but my koi simply eat it duck weed is considered invasive too,good luck keeping any of that with koi or goldfish either.
There are two ponds, the smaller one is about 7,000 gallons and the other one is much bigger at about 35,000 gallons. I go in with hip waders to muck out the sludge and pull out excess weeds. I could do the same with milfoil if necessary. So, if you think that is do-able then I will not fret. I'd hate for it to take over because it becomes a breeding ground for mosquitos. Currently, we do not have any trouble with mosquitos (and no frogs!). Btw....we don't have any fish in our ponds. We tried that but the racoons and herons got them all.
Smaug
God makes perfect. I just dug the hole
No I wouldn't have it in a pond that big with nothing in there eating it. Just curious ,why the frog hate!?
Milfoil is difficult to weed when it gets going, it has quite tenacious roots. Not much fun chasing it round the bottom of any pond. Much easier to pick out of a bare root waterlily that can easily be lifted out of a tub