The most frequently asked questions, are
what kind soil do I need to plant my lilies and my other aquatic plants? What
type of container should I use? Exactly how are the plants to be planted in the
container? How deep should the plants be in the pond once they are planted? How
often should I fertilize and what type of fertilizer should I use? Do all the
aquatic plants require fertilizer?
We will try and answer all these questions and more, if you have any questions
that we do not cover here please feel free to call us and we will be happy to
help you.
See our "How to Plant" tutorial
with photos.
LILIES
Our plants are mature and have leaves and sometimes even blooms on them, they
are not just a rhizome or dry root as you sometimes find in some of the
nurseries or hardware stores where lilies are sold.
We recommend that you use pots that are at least 12 inches across, lilies need
plenty of room to grow properly. We use squat pots or aquatic pots here on our
farm. These type of pots are shorter and have no holes in them. If you have
regular pots this will work, just plug up the holes so the nutrients and the
dirt won't leach out into your pond. Some of our customers like to use the
aquatic baskets, these are fine, however they are more expensive, the choice is
yours. We suggest 2 gallon squat pots for medium to large lilies and 1 gallon
squat pots for small and dwarf type lilies.
Lilies grow best in rich garden soil, and clay like soil is even better. Be sure
there is no peat moss, humus, or chips of wood in your soil this will make a
mess and rot under water, this could cause some problems in your pond. You can
use kitty litter also however be sure it has no perfumes or chemicals added to
it, and you will have to fertilize our plants more often if you chose to use
this type of soil.
Now you are ready to plant your lilies. We suggest you soak your pot first
before planting, and be sure to pack the soil down as hard as you can while
soaking.
We need to explain at this point that you do not want to cover the Crown. You
may or may not be asking yourself what is a Crown? Well this is where the leaves
and the flowers grow out of the lilies rhizhome. If you cover this part with
soil; the plant will die. Look closely at the plant and you will see where the
crown is. Now take the plant and gently push it into the soil, this should be
easy to do since you soaked the pot before hand. You should be going at a
horizontal angle how much of an angle depends on the crown. Now take some pea
gravel and place about 1/2 inch to an inch on top of the soil, this will keep
the dirt in the pot when you put it in the pond. Be sure to fertilize our lilies
before placing them in the pond, lilies are heavy feeders, be sure not to let
them go hungry!!! This is especially true during the growing season. The growing
season is between April and October depending on what part of the country your
in. Lilies should be planted between 12-24 inches below the surface of the
water, however, at first they should be introduced into the pond gradually,
stand the pot on one or more bricks, so that the crown is a couple of inches
below the surface of the water. Remove the bricks as growth increases, until the
plant reaches it's permanent base in deep water. Again be sure to fertilize your
lilies every 4-6 weeks during the growing season, this will give you maximum
blooms throughout the season.!!
LOTUS
When handling lotus tuber's the main thing to remember is HANDLE WITH CARE!!!
The tuber's
Are very fragile and the growing tip can break very easily, and in most cases
this is the main cause for failure with lotus. The second thing to remember is
not to plant the tuber to deep. Lotus require good rich soil as the lilies do.
Same rule applies to them, no peat moss, or humus, or wood chips, and the lotus
require plenty of room to grow. You can use the aquatic lotus pots, again no
holes, or you can use a large plastic tub. We use many different sizes, to start
with you can use at least a 4-5 gallon pot or tub.
Soak the soil and gently lay the tuber horizontally onto the soil, being very
careful ,and be sure not to put it to deep into the soil. After you plant it you
should still be able to see the whole tuber.
IDEALLY YOU CAN JUST BARELY BURY IT AND PUT A FEW SMALL ROCKS ON IT TO ANCHOR
IT, IT WILL SHOOT OUT ITS ROOTS AND ANCHOR ITSELF WITHIN 6-8 WEEKS.
The tuber's new runners will travel on top of the soil and in some cases will
travel deep down into the soil and it will keep winding around the pot.
Fertilize your lotus before putting it into the pond, they will need to be
fertilized at least every 4-6 weeks after that. Place the pot about 6 inches
into the water and as the weather gets warmer you may submerge it at least to 12
inches deep. Remember if the lotus is submerged to deep and water is colder at
that depth the lotus may go dormant for another season.
Lotus like water temperature's of at least 80 degrees, for at least 3 months in
order for them to perform at their best and give maximum blooms. The season for
the blooms is usually from end of July through the end of August. This is for
zone 5 where our farm is located. The season's will vary depending on what part
of the country you live in. In some cases if it gets to hot the Lotus will go
dormant. Lotus can be very temperamental but once established they will take
over your pond. So be careful, if you want to control them, the best way is to
plant them in containers. Once they start blooming all the work and worry is
well worth the beauty you will enjoy!!! Please be aware, that there are some
companies that sell runner's, these are usually sold throughout the summer. The
runner does not have enough energy stored in it to take off and be a mature
plant. The roots will dry up and die very easily. Also some lotus are sold which
come from seeds, and these will take 5 to 7 years to produce a flower, and the
flower will not be true to its name.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Many people call and ask what they should do with their Hardy water plants when
winter comes. We suggest that you put them in the deepest part of the pond
where the water will not freeze completely. The plants should be fine as
long as the root ball does not freeze. The plants will let you know when they
want to go dormant, usually they will start the process as soon as the days
start to get shorter.
Regarding the tropical plants we suggest you consider them to be the same as any
other annual plant. We do have some customers who winter over their tropical
plants. We hear many different methods of keeping them until the next
season. Our opinion is spend your time relaxing and waiting for the next
season, and then just buy new tropical plants. In most cases it is the
same cost in buying new or wintering over.
We have always loved the sound of water gently bubbling over rocks
or the sound of a waterfall, and the beauty of nature. It seems that the
ideal way to enjoy both is by having a pond or two or three!!!. Here at our farm
we have many different ponds to choose from, depending on the mood we might be
in! This also serves to show visitors and would be pond people all the different
kinds of water gardens you can have. I sometimes like to go to an
area here on the farm that has lots of vegetation and right in the center is one
of the first ponds that Vic developed out here on the prairie.
It is a favorite spot for all kinds of little creatures, dragonflies,
frogs, and some of the cats we have out here on the premises. It has
rustic old board that goes across the water, and it is fun to stand in the
middle and watch the fish play. In June the lilies fill this pond
with beautiful colors, and in late July there is a lotus whose blooms give me so
much pleasure to look at. To the North there is a white arched bridge that
goes across a stream that leads to the pond, I have spent many hours daydreaming
there too!!! On the southern end of our yard there is a giant pond that
holds our fish, some of which are 2 to 3 feet long, in the summer it holds
hundreds of water hyacinth and our Tropical lilies, it is a glorious sight
to see them all blooming. We have many above ground and below ground ponds
that hold our lilies and lotus and marginal plants, and during the growing
season it is a profusion of beautiful colors, and wonderful fragrances.
We even have small whiskey barrel water gardens to show people that you
don't have to have much space to enjoy the beauty of a pond. We hope
we're beneficial in helping you with your pond, whether you are an
experienced water Gardner or a novice.
We would like to thank you for your interest in our company. If you have
any questions or
suggestions please feel free to write, e-mail or call us, we are always striving
to better serve our
customers. We want to make sure you will get the best prices and service,
and most importantly that you will enjoy your water gardening .