Good deal! You can put them at their normal depth - the pads will quickly reach the surface.
Building a Pond in Chicago Area - Advice Gladly Taken
- Thread starter DrellDrell
- Start date
Ah! Those are REALLY tiny pots for lilies. I would plan for a re-potting party soon.
I just bought three of these today:
Oil change pan.
I also bought one of these:
Plain ole dishpan. I have a few lilies that need to be divided and repotted, so that's on my list for tomorrow. Fun times!
I just bought three of these today:
Oil change pan.
I also bought one of these:
Plain ole dishpan. I have a few lilies that need to be divided and repotted, so that's on my list for tomorrow. Fun times!
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2010
- Messages
- 4,071
- Reaction score
- 4,023
- Location
- Chicago Area
- Hardiness Zone
- 5b
- Country
DrellDrell, Your pond looks great! Fanatastic job. Re the floaters you will be probably tossing the extras away soon if they multiply like mine do. Haha, that was funny your wife wanted a few fish. The main thing is to let the cycle take its course and the algae should clear up when it's cycled.
And let the pond addiction begin! 
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2010
- Messages
- 44,908
- Reaction score
- 29,895
- Location
- Frederick, Maryland
- Showcase(s):
- 1
- Hardiness Zone
- 6b
- Country
Agree with Lisak, Lilies like round pots, I would replant asap too, they will grow a lot better in more room and will outgrow those pots very quickly. Plant the tuber next to the edge with the growing tip facing into the pot.
Thanks. Should I cut off or prune the very tip of the tuber to help stimulate growth. Also, I see that there is a "Special Kitty: Natural Cat Litter" at Walmart that states it is made from from 100% natural ground clay. Is this OK to sue to plant the lilys?
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2010
- Messages
- 44,908
- Reaction score
- 29,895
- Location
- Frederick, Maryland
- Showcase(s):
- 1
- Hardiness Zone
- 6b
- Country
No to pruning, yes to litter
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2010
- Messages
- 44,908
- Reaction score
- 29,895
- Location
- Frederick, Maryland
- Showcase(s):
- 1
- Hardiness Zone
- 6b
- Country
Prune only if mushy
Pond Update:
I repotted the lilies last night. The original pot was quite crowded. I saw what I believe to be the tuber as well as several longer roots (I think)l. I rinsed out the cat litter to remove as much dust as I could. Planted the lily on the side with the tuber and roots going straight in the opposite direction. They were planted about 2" into the cat litter. I also added a fertilizer tablet. I used plastic oil pans that is about 3-4 tall and about 12" in diameter - wide and shallow. I planted the lilies 12-14" deep. Over night one of the lilies has pad that broke the surface. The pads on the other lily still need to grow a bit.
The water is starting to clear up a bit, not much. My filter media has been dirty and I can see a green tinge to white filter media in the Savio skimmer filter. I have been rinsing it out. I have two filter that I will start interchanging daily to allow the filter to remove more waste mechanically.
Bought a n API pond test kit and the levels are: Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrite 1 ppm, Phosphate 0.5 ppm, and pH between 7.0 - 7.50 (deepening on how I interpret the colors). So the levels look good so far. I am presuming I am over the initial Ammonia and nitrite spike. Will continue to test the water ever 2-3 days for the next two weeks.
BTW - my nine year old son has been appointed the "pond tester" responsible for interpreting and recording all official test results. He is a bit geeked about it. Going to make him chart the results and include in his summer homework. He has no idea he is doing homework yet!
I repotted the lilies last night. The original pot was quite crowded. I saw what I believe to be the tuber as well as several longer roots (I think)l. I rinsed out the cat litter to remove as much dust as I could. Planted the lily on the side with the tuber and roots going straight in the opposite direction. They were planted about 2" into the cat litter. I also added a fertilizer tablet. I used plastic oil pans that is about 3-4 tall and about 12" in diameter - wide and shallow. I planted the lilies 12-14" deep. Over night one of the lilies has pad that broke the surface. The pads on the other lily still need to grow a bit.
The water is starting to clear up a bit, not much. My filter media has been dirty and I can see a green tinge to white filter media in the Savio skimmer filter. I have been rinsing it out. I have two filter that I will start interchanging daily to allow the filter to remove more waste mechanically.
Bought a n API pond test kit and the levels are: Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrite 1 ppm, Phosphate 0.5 ppm, and pH between 7.0 - 7.50 (deepening on how I interpret the colors). So the levels look good so far. I am presuming I am over the initial Ammonia and nitrite spike. Will continue to test the water ever 2-3 days for the next two weeks.
BTW - my nine year old son has been appointed the "pond tester" responsible for interpreting and recording all official test results. He is a bit geeked about it. Going to make him chart the results and include in his summer homework. He has no idea he is doing homework yet!
Attachments
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2010
- Messages
- 44,908
- Reaction score
- 29,895
- Location
- Frederick, Maryland
- Showcase(s):
- 1
- Hardiness Zone
- 6b
- Country
Make sure the growing tip of the lily is above the litter, ie where the leaves come out of the tuber.
Nice project for your kid.
Nice project for your kid.
Thanks. I made the adjustment today.
I am curious if it is necessary to have an aerator or something the reaches the lowest section of our pond. It is 40" deep and under the waterfall. My thought is the waterfall, that receives water via an 2,050 GPH water pump, flow downward into the deepest section should create enoughwater movement in this area. I am worried about the deepest section not having enough water circulation. Or, am i overthinking this issue?
Quick Update: The fist are doing well. Active, I feed them sparingly 2-3 times a week. All three nibble on the plants quite a bit. Not sure if I should feed them more; trying not to increase the waste load too much. I added couple of tadpoles we weeks ago that I early see due to the water being fairly green. Get back to the water later in this post.
The lilys I added are growing. One is average a new pad per day over the last 3-4 days and each pad is bigger that the prior pad. The other lily plant is growing at a slightly slower rate. The water lettuce is browning a bit. Likely because the pond gets a lot of sun. The water hyathcyns are growing slowly. I added more yesterday and they are giants compared to those I already had. I added a couple other plants as well.
On the topic of the water again, it green about three weeks ago and has stayed that way since. Some days the water looks somewhat clearer allowing me to see about 2' into the pond. I did a 15-20% water change four days ago. Likely the biggest I have don since I set up the pond. We have received a ton of rain so I have had to remove water about five times in the last three weeks or so. I am using and API Pondcare Master Liquid Test Kit. The ammonia had been at zero until the the day I did the water change. It appears to be .25ppm. Nitrite was zero, phosphorus appeared to be between zero and .25ppm. I have a nitrate test kit arriving tomorrow. pH was about 7.
I also added an air pump and air stone for aeration.
Hoping the water clears up soon. Any suggestions? See pics attached.
The lilys I added are growing. One is average a new pad per day over the last 3-4 days and each pad is bigger that the prior pad. The other lily plant is growing at a slightly slower rate. The water lettuce is browning a bit. Likely because the pond gets a lot of sun. The water hyathcyns are growing slowly. I added more yesterday and they are giants compared to those I already had. I added a couple other plants as well.
On the topic of the water again, it green about three weeks ago and has stayed that way since. Some days the water looks somewhat clearer allowing me to see about 2' into the pond. I did a 15-20% water change four days ago. Likely the biggest I have don since I set up the pond. We have received a ton of rain so I have had to remove water about five times in the last three weeks or so. I am using and API Pondcare Master Liquid Test Kit. The ammonia had been at zero until the the day I did the water change. It appears to be .25ppm. Nitrite was zero, phosphorus appeared to be between zero and .25ppm. I have a nitrate test kit arriving tomorrow. pH was about 7.
I also added an air pump and air stone for aeration.
Hoping the water clears up soon. Any suggestions? See pics attached.
Attachments
Yup. I suggest you wait patiently. Tough I know. But give it time and your pond will do what ponds do. It looks great by the way!