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07-28-2007, 12:04 PM
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| Yellow Nymphaea This is my first YELLOW water lily after I started using pots to grow water lilies. It is a beautiful yellow without any whites in between. It bloomed an hour ago and I think it has not opened fully yet. I am also glad I am home to enjoy it the whole day       |
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07-28-2007, 12:40 PM
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| Hi Pike, when you say 'growing in pots', does that mean a base quantity of medium in which the roots feed and the rest of the space full of water? That would appear to be the the case judging from the first pic. It is a pretty flower! Bill |
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07-28-2007, 03:35 PM
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| Some people who winter over their water lillies indoor will pot them up than set them on the bottom of the pond. This allows we northerners to grow the non hardy varieties. I had planted several varieties in my pond but I have a stubborn muskrat that enjoys the taste and works hard at keeping my pond clean. He even cleaned out all of my Daylillies I had planted along the waters edge! The pleasures of living in the country.  |
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07-28-2007, 05:15 PM
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| Pikevi - Gorgeous flowers. I am going to be installing a water feature with pond in my back yard in August. Any help with water plants would be appreciated. Kazjak - My backyard is a wilderness for all types of animals as well. Is there are particular types of water plants that are less appetizing to the critters or will they just about eat anything? I was thinking about putting some Koi in the pond, but I have too many Herons around. |
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07-28-2007, 07:48 PM
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| I've got a Heron that lives in the back yard too.. We call him Bruce. When it comes to critters and Gardens, the saying of choice is "If you plant it they will come". I can't seem to find anything they don't like |
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07-28-2007, 08:46 PM
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| Thanks everyone. BillC: I have a regular pot (with drain holes) which has the medium and the plant(s). The whole thing is submerged in a larger pot which is filled with water. This makes it easier to change the water frequently until I find something that will kill the mosquito larvae without hurting the plant. I had a fibre glass pond in the backyard fully embedded in the ground. I had Koi and goldfish in it. I also had some guppies to eat the mosquito larvae. Though I had a mix of cold water fish and tropical fish they did alright since the pond was big and deep. I have racoons and occasional beavers in this area and I had nothing but problems. I lost many fish to them. And they make such a mess of the plants and the pots inside I had to clean the entire pond. With the additional threat of West Nile fever I got rid of the pond( I have many kids come to play and have fun) Kazjak and tobi: I'd love to have wildernesss as my backyard. I know it comes with its own set headaches too Is it a blue heron, kazjak? What a lovely bird. Palito : how many colours do you have? I have pink,red and yellow. I had blue (hybrid) when I had the pond but it did not have many blooms. Tobi: I have water canna, water hyacinth and water lettuce and all of them are in pots. When you are ready we can work on the aquatic plants with /without fish. |
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07-28-2007, 08:57 PM
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| Your water lily flower is gorgeous !  I love the mellow color. I've been looking for a water lily plant for a couple of months now, to no avail. I think they only sell them here in the springs. I'm tempted to take out my canoe in to the lake and scoop out some, but they are not as pretty...so I think I'll wait. Thanks for sharing the lovely pic. |
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07-29-2007, 08:30 AM
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| Yes Pikevi, it is a Blue Heron. He does a good job keeping the BlueGill population under control. Quite a stealthy hunter. Wilderness = Deer eating flower buds Skunks digging holes Raccoons dumping pots Woodchucks burrowing dens Muskrats eating water plants Canadian Geese pooping Rabbits eating anything they can reach |
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07-29-2007, 09:03 AM
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| Kazjak, I have all of the exact same varmints in my backyard. Only difference is the woodchucks are digging under my shed and deck. Use to have a good population of red Fox for about 5 years. Haven't seen any in about 1 1/2 yrs. now. No offense, but I believe the correct terminology is Canada Geese and you're right about them pooping. Don't know a bird can go that much!! |
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07-29-2007, 04:25 PM
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| Hey Guys... I built a new 10,000 gal koi pond this past winter cause the koi in my old pond were getting too large. Before the big one was done a Heron spotted the water and ate all fish! I dug out all the plant ledges and made the new pond at least 4 ft deep (6 at the deepest)... Supposedly the heron are waders and don't even like to get their bellies wet when feeding... Now I have to worry about the Eagles, Hawks, and Ospreys. |
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07-29-2007, 04:51 PM
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| Good looking water feature... That's not a pond! This is a pond!  Don't know the actual size but right around 3 acres. Sorry, it gets a little murky this time of year. It's a dammed up stream so it would be impossible to treat with chemicals and keep up with all the farmers fertilizers. It's shared by 4 homes. I hope to eventually dig a small feature like yours then have a stream and some falls cascading back down to the big pond.. Big dreams and a large electric bill but who cares..it's only money! I've tried planting some aquatic plants that would help clean the water but as you've already read above.. I can't keep up with the voracious appetites of the local rodents. |
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07-29-2007, 06:25 PM
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| Damn Kozak, that's a small lake, not a pond. Know wonder the critters love you. Man, I'd love to going fishing there. What do you have stocked there? |
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07-29-2007, 09:08 PM
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| There's Bass, Bluegill, Catfish, and White Amurs. Unfortunately just before we bought the property the pond had a quick algae turn over and killed all of the big bass. They are making a comeback though; I've caught 5 or 6 with my fly rod that were around 10 inches. According to my neighbor he could catch at least one 5 pounder every day he fished..... |
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07-30-2007, 06:28 AM
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| Beautiful pond , Maxxrep. I had an 8-foot diameter pond and I thought it was big!  Yours looks great.Kazjak: I'd agree with Tobi: it IS a lake, lol BTW, doesn't US dept. of Fish and Wildlife give away free fish stock to re-build lake populations? I also remember reading that an increase in catfish population is an indication of oxygen depletion in the lakes. May be it has to be stocked with plants first. Just a thought. |
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07-30-2007, 07:05 AM
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| Beautiful pikevi and great timing for you. I've been tempted to grow some of these lilies but room is a scarce commodity for me lately. I do though, get to take walks at a sanctuary down the road from where I live and get to see them growing in the ponds there. The momma ducks and babies glide around them....so cute. Enjoy. |
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07-30-2007, 06:02 PM
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| Thank you sandra. They grow surprisingly well in pots as long as they are large enough. The problem is to get rid of the mosquito larvae. None of the garden centres can offer a solution for that, yet.  If you don't have much room and if you can only have one try to get a Nelumbium sp. (Lotus) instead of Nymphaea (Lily). I think they are more fragrant and the flowers will last longer too. I can't find them anywhere here. |
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07-30-2007, 07:27 PM
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| Hey Pikevi... try Bacillus thuringiensis... comes in shakable pellets or dunk rings. I think it's the same thing that kills catepillers. It evidently works bacterially and is harmless. Most garden and hardware stores around here sell it... thanks to the West Nile Virus. |
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07-30-2007, 09:39 PM
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| Quote:
I also grow lotuses! |
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#23</ |
