Central Florida pond under construction

[j.w]

Ha Ha that is what I'm going to try to do this year too CE. Control the plants and only keep one of each color. Lol, we will see who wins............I think it might be the plants!

 

[callingcolleen1]

Love your pictures! All I have right now to look at is brown cold ground and ice and snow!!! You are so lucky to live in Florida!

 

[gardengimp]

Nelumbo lutea is a species of flowering plant in the monotypic family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée. It is native to North America. Wikipedia

Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live in freshwater areas in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains eight genera. Wikipedia

I have read that water lily leaves will also stand above the water if they are too crowded and need dividing. I have a water poppy in a small half barrel, and it's leaves stand above the water because it is crowded.

Not sure if I'm adding to your confusion CE or helping ....

 

[CountryEscape]

Oh, you're confusing me more, but that's ok. I'm learning as I go. So, do the lotus usually grow above the water, and the lilies usually on the water surface? That's the way I try to keep them separate in my mind. I know the lotus flower is very different than the lily, too, or from what I've seen they are different. The lotus sure has a very different seed pod than the lily.

 

[gardengimp]

Lotus leaves are a lot different than lily leaves. Well, at least the lotus and lily's I see out on the St Johns river. Here is a good youtube video that explains the differences.

PS - and I so want to write this guy and ask where he got his mesh pots :razz:

 

[callingcolleen1]

I must get out of the house and travel down to Florida one of these days and see the wild lotus plants down there. Up here where in live in Canada, never heard if anyone growing lotus outside before I think our season is just too short. I know I saw them only once selling at our local greenhouse, but they never got them again, must not have worked out too well.

 

[CountryEscape]

I've never seen them in the greenhouses here either, Colleen. I know they grow wild in the rivers in NW Illinois, though. They are THICK, and everywhere along the Mississippi River. I was going to wade out and get one, and then decided they were just plain white, and I wanted color .... and I didn't want to deal with any snakes that may have been in the area either. The water was about 18" deep, so I would have gotten quite wet, but hey, what we will do for a free wild flower, right?

 

[gardengimp]

Yup, and we have giant koi in the St. John's also.

 

[shinksma]

PS - and I so want to write this guy and ask where he got his mesh pots :razz:

Heh, I've found round or square mesh pots up to 10" (diameter or on a side) on Amazon and other on-line retailers. I prefer round, since the rhizomes of the hardy water lilies and lotus will then not get jammed into a corner. I may procure some, to see how they do: as I mentioned in a different thread in a mini-discussion with CountryEscape, I'm not sure if there is any actual benefit, but I'll have a go at a couple to compare to regular pots. Just wish I could find some bigger than 10": my lotus came in a short pot that is about 14" or 16" across.

shinksma

 

[CountryEscape]

I just finally watched the video. As he said, the roots will go through the mesh, and that's all fine and dandy maybe for the tropicals, which as he said are smaller round bulb tubers, but I still think it's a mess waiting to happen with hardy lilies. Those are much stronger, and they will go through the mesh, and continue growing until they find something else to grab onto. In the solid pots, this never happened. If you use the mesh pots, try to find smaller lilies that don't get as large, that would help, too. I'll be anxious to hear your conclusion by comparing the mesh to solid pots, Shinksma. I hope both work well for you. The pots in the video were small, so maybe they will grow just fine in them. I just see cutting off a ton of roots to separate the tubers. Come to think of it, when I separate the tubers, most of the roots come off anyhow, so maybe that is no problem.

 

[CountryEscape]

OK, another thing that needs to be pointed out about the lotus and fish - they are both extremely invasive, as the video guy stated. He said that the lotus could take over that lake in a season. I find that a little stretched, but when I saw them growing wild on the river, I realized how quickly they can spread, and how hardy they are, even on fast moving water, although they were over along the bank and it must not have been very deep there. When you see koi in a lake or pond, remember that they are an invasive species and if they spawn and the rains come and wash babies out, some of them may survive down stream/ditch in another body of water. I would love to put koi in my farm pond, but if any "got out" and washed down the ditch to other bodies of water, and they tracked them back to me, I could be in big trouble, forced to pay for the removal of them in other places. So, unless and until I find a way to keep them in my farm pond, they will not get located there. Of course, I could claim that a bird must have carried one there, and released it .... And, for now, I don't have any extras I want to get rid of.

 

[CountryEscape]

OK, while I was outside today, I noticed this one mesh basket that I had purchased about 5 water plants already potted in it, growing like crazy, and I could not resist! Sadly, the one I loved the most, a red stemmed hibiscus, did not live, even though I brought the whole basket into the basement under a light for winter. Anyhow, here is what the pot looked like that fall when I took it out of the bog. OMG, roots went everywhere, I didn't think I was ever going to talk it into coming out! There was no way to easily remove one of the plants to repot it, too much damage to the root system.

As you can see, the roots were not only on the outside of the basket, but MOSTLY on the outside. The basket was created like I think most greenhouses do them. Overkill, too many plants, but they look wonderful for the season. Just to get the plant roots out now will need a knife or pruners to cut through the tangled mess. I'd like to find another plant to put in it, one that would not grow as quickly, maybe, and not "leave" the basket. Not sure what that would be, though.

 

[j.w]

What a mess and I've been there and done that before leaving water lilies in one of the holed baskets. No more of those kind for me. I'm sticking w/ the solid sided ones. Then the only thing they can do is jump out and that's easy to deal with.

 

[CountryEscape]

I agree, JW. I had too many lilies in my pond last year. I went into the pond, nice warm water, nice warm day, and had a heck of a time finding the dead stems to remove and prune, there were far too many plants mingled among each other. Going to try to limit them this year, maybe put a tall plant in between each pot of lilies, to break up the sides some. Now, just need some taller plants that are hardy, maybe something that blooms, but not something that goes wild and takes over. Any suggestions, my fellow ponders???

 

[j.w]

Hey I found this today in one of my emails from a company and looks like it would be pretty easy to make. Isn't the foam stuff around the outside just some kind of black insulation foam you might find at Lowes or H-depot?

Description:
Create a floating floral showcase while improving water quality. Heavy-duty, black polyethylene foam flotation collar fits snugly around planters, keeping your favorite bog plants, annuals, and houseplants afloat and protected from nibbling koi.