What is the best type of pot and how to plant Lilies and bog plants

[TimsPond]

So I want to get started planting my new pond and need advice on what are the best types of pots and how exactly to plant different types of plants.

For pots, what do you prefer, solid, mesh or the bag style pots? Or is it plant dependent?

For plants, I am planning on Iris, Cardinal Flower and Pickerel Rush, as well as Lilies. Can I just place the bulbs, tubers, rhizomes in gravel and let them draw nutrients from the water or do you use any specific planting medium?

Thanks for any guidance,
Tim

 

[addy1]

I put my lilies in kitty litter, the plain clay stuff, iris, some in the bog in pea gravel, some in the pond just stuck in rocks, pickerel rush in kitty litter in pots to control its spread.
The lilies in a walmart oil pan, the iris some in old garden black pots like a gallon 2 gallon size, pickerel in 2 gallon size or so.

 

[snoozer]

I put my lilies in in hanging baskets with plain kitty litter. I can pull them out by the hook in spring to move them to shallower water and fertilize. I don't mind going in the pond in July to get at them, April is a different story.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

My lilies are planted in solid plastic dishpans which are covered in wire fencing to protect them from being rooted up by the fish & also to make it easier to fertilize them regularly during the growing season.

My marginals are all planted directly in gravel on the shelves - no pots at all. I think they do a better job of sucking up the nutrients in the pond if the roots can run free, and esthetically I really don't like the artificial look of plants in pots in the pond (but that's just my personal preference)

 

[addy1]

I added floating ropes to the oil pans, I can grab them with my pond grabber. Pull them to the side to be able to get them out.

 

[Lisak1]

Since everyone answered the lilies question I'll add my two cents about marginals - I prefer them planted right in the pond, roots in the water where they can do the most good both for the plant and for my pond. Learn how to naturalize your plants and you'll never have to worry about re-potting or moving them to the bottom during cold weather, etc.

 

[brokensword]

So I want to get started planting my new pond and need advice on what are the best types of pots and how exactly to plant different types of plants.

For pots, what do you prefer, solid, mesh or the bag style pots? Or is it plant dependent?

For plants, I am planning on Iris, Cardinal Flower and Pickerel Rush, as well as Lilies. Can I just place the bulbs, tubers, rhizomes in gravel and let them draw nutrients from the water or do you use any specific planting medium?

Thanks for any guidance,
Tim

I use oil pans and plastic garden pots. For iris, cardinal flower, plant with the tuber/crown at water level. Don't submerge though they can take a small amount. They do best if at water level with roots in the water/gravel. Pickerel Rush can be planted below the waterline; I had mine 12" under but this year, I'm moving them and they'll be at water height just because the koi like to pick/eat the roots.

 

[TimsPond]

I added floating ropes to the oil pans, I can grab them with my pond grabber. Pull them to the side to be able to get them out.

How many lilies do you put in each oil pan?

 

[TimsPond]

I use oil pans and plastic garden pots. For iris, cardinal flower, plant with the tuber/crown at water level. Don't submerge though they can take a small amount. They do best if at water level with roots in the water/gravel. Pickerel Rush can be planted below the waterline; I had mine 12" under but this year, I'm moving them and they'll be at water height just because the koi like to pick/eat the roots.

Same question. How many lilies do you put in each oil pan?
Do you have any pictures?

 

[mrsclem]

I am using medical wash basins, kitty litter with a little Osmocote and covered with plastic fence. I put one plant per pot unless they are tiny roots.

 

[addy1]

How many lilies do you put in each oil pan?

I have from one tuber to 4ish tubers, depends on if I have groomed them recently.

 

[brokensword]

Same question. How many lilies do you put in each oil pan?
Do you have any pictures?

Generally, I suppose you should put one but I'm running out of room so I have 2 or 3 in some cases with very aggressive growing lilies. The slower ones, definitely one. No pics but the process is pretty easy. You look for the growing ponts (called 'eyes') and you cut/break back of there. Sometimes I have growing points on both ends, sometimes and usually, just on one end. Water lilies tend to move forward yearly and the tuber gets large but you can break/cut the old part off. Sometimes, it'll begin growing from it but I'm at the point where I have 14+ lilies and am running out of places to put them without the whole pond being covered by just that one type of plant. I like variety, so...

 

[Lisak1]

There are some really good YouTube videos on dividing and re-potting lilies. Here's one the that helped me a lot when I was first learning. I can't believe he's doing this indoors - haha!

Skip ahead to about the 2:30 mark:

 

[brokensword]

There are some really good YouTube videos on dividing and re-potting lilies. Here's one the that helped me a lot when I was first learning. I can't believe he's doing this indoors - haha!

Skip ahead to about the 2:30 mark:

you know Lisa, it's odd but the times I've replanted and fertilized the waterlilies, I never get the 'smell' others talk about. Oh, it's fishy/pondy but nothing that comes close to horrible. I wonder if those that get the smell have rotting/dead tubers and I haven't reached that point yet in their maturity.

 

[Lisak1]

That might very well be the case! Because mine are always WAY overgrown and WAY stinky! To be honest, I don't hate the smell. I just associate it with pond and who could ever hate that! We used to have mud fights in the ponds when we were growing up - same smell.