I'm having triplets!

[taherrmann4]

I just anchor them with rocks no soil, gravel or anything. The only word of caution when doing this is to be sure you have a decent size rock or rocks, a few years ago my lily tuber and roots become buoyant after they got too large and one of the rocks got knocked off. When I pulled it out of the pond, it weighed a ton (not sure how it floated) and the tuber was huge and the god awful smell!

 

[addy1]

I like mine in pans, the deep ones I can pull closer to be able to groom them. I am always moving them around too, the pans make it easy.

 

[j.w]

I tried the pea gravel but the pots were so heavy I could hardly lift them and it was a bugger untangling the tuber roots from the gravel. I'm gonna try weighting mine down w/ just rocks next time I divide and let the fish poo in the water fertilize them to see what happens. If I don't like that then I'm going to use kitty litter w/ the osmocote.

 

[addy1]

I tried the pea gravel but the pots were so heavy I could hardly lift them and it was a bugger untangling the tuber roots from the gravel. I'm gonna try weighting mine down w/ just rocks next time I divide and let the fish poo in the water fertilize them to see what happens. If I don't like that then I'm going to use kitty litter w/ the osmocote.

The roots come out of the kitty litter pretty easily jw.

 

[j.w]

That's good to know, thanks addy

 

[CountryEscape]

Addy, what is osmocote? And, I wondered why you often mention the oil pans. Now I understand, as they are shallow and wide, since lilies like wide root base. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[addy1]

Addy, what is osmocote? And, I wondered why you often mention the oil pans. Now I understand, as they are shallow and wide, since lilies like wide root base. Thanks for clarifying.

I like them cause they are low, shallow, easy to move around when I am working on the lilies. I can just push them with my toe if need be. I tend to move the lilies here and there as they grew this year. They do like wide pans.
Osmocote is a time release fertilizer. I have seen posted that it is bad to use, i.e. algae in your pond, but I have had no issues with it, and have seen success posts by a lot of other ponders. I put it under the clay when potting the lilies. If anything added during the year just use tabs. Use it also for the lotus.

 

[taherrmann4]

Addy I wonder if people with smaller ponds that add osmocote to their plants have a higher chance of getting an algae bloom with it, since it is not diluted as much as in a larger pond?

 

[superdaft]

HI all,

I have read alot of people use oil pans, and would like to give them a go, only problem is I have no idea what they look like, or where to get them from, does anyone have any pics of them that would help,

Many thanks

Rory.

 

[HARO]

Rory; An oil pan is the round plastic thingy that you place under your car engine to catch the oil when you do an oil change. Or maybe no-one does their own any more? John

 

[superdaft]

Oh right, I know what you mean now, thanks for that john, I had all sorts of kitchen ware going through my head, doh, makes a lot more sense now

 

[addy1]

Addy I wonder if people with smaller ponds that add osmocote to their plants have a higher chance of getting an algae bloom with it, since it is not diluted as much as in a larger pond?

don't know tmann, my lotus pond is 300 gallons with lotus, I put osmocote under the clay when I potted them, a few fish, no filtration, no algae has grown.

 

[pinon ponder]

Just a quick update - the triplets are all sending up new leaves! I think they like the still, warmer water of the stock tank. The big pond stays around 72 deg. but the stock tank is probably 10 deg. warmer. I'm not using the pump after all so the water is getting a bit nasty looking. But I'm afraid to clean it up in case the lilies like it.

And why do the bigger lilies they smell so bad when they come out of their pots? Seriously rank! lol!

 

[addy1]

Just a quick update - the triplets are all sending up new leaves! I think they like the still, warmer water of the stock tank. The big pond stays around 72 deg. but the stock tank is probably 10 deg. warmer. I'm not using the pump after all so the water is getting a bit nasty looking. But I'm afraid to clean it up in case the lilies like it.

And why do the bigger lilies they smell so bad when they come out of their pots? Seriously rank! lol!

Congrats on your triplet leaves!

The same stink you get if a bunch of muck collects on the bottom of your pond, anaerobic bacteria. The pot does not have good water flow so therefore the anaerobic bacteria have a good time living there. The pond we rescued the fish from, once we stirred up the bottom muck trying to get the suckers out, it stunk horrible, gas bubbles rising to the surface and a oil slick to the water. Not sure how long they had been there without a pump running. The filter was a bucket with some lava rock in it, sitting in the pond.
(not picking on sissy's favorite lava rock............lol) the bucket did not even pull the muck from the bottom, water just ran through it.

 

[pinon ponder]

Thanks, Addy! Yeah, it does smell the same. PeeeeUUUU! lol!

I put a lily in the stock tank, potless. Just dropped it in and left it. The next day the water was clear. That was two days ago and the water is still clear. Weird. I guess the lily needing some nutrients. No flower pods, though.