Need advice on choice of lilies

[Sooner Dragon]

I have a koi pond which I'd estimate to be about 3,000 gallons and about 13' x 26' in width and length. Partial shade. Located in Oklahoma. Hot in the summer, and temperatures may occasionally approach 0 degrees in the winter.

I need to restock lilies in the pond. I want the largest and most aggressive variety available. Large and numerous pads. Blooms are nice, but I'm primarily interested in maximizing pad coverage over the pond to provide cover for the fish.

I see all kinds of available lily varieties but I don't have a clue what kind to get. Can anyone help me with recommendations?

I'd also appreciate any advice on choices of online sellers of pond plants. Thus far, I've only used PetSolutions. They're fine, but I'd be interested to know if there are better choices.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[addy1]

koi and lilies don't usually get along. They eat them up. I have hardy pink ones no clue of name that are growing great.

The forum appreciates it if you introduce yourself in the intro thread

 

[fishin4cars]

Please post a introduction. If your looking for more leaf coverage and tougher lily's for the Koi to possibly leave alone, hardies of any type will probably be your better choice.

 

[stroppy]

there is a type called Nuphar lutea i dont know if you can get them over there but they are a very large type of Lilly and tough but only have a small buttercup like flower

 

[fishin4cars]

koi and lilies don't usually get along. They eat them up. I have hardy pink ones no clue of name that are growing great.

The forum appreciates it if you introduce yourself in the intro thread

Lily's and Koi aren't the best mix but in some cases they can be kept together. I have 22 koi and six lily's and all my lilys are growing and blooming. You have to take some special precautions and measures but it can be done at least to some extent.

there is a type called Nuphar lutea i dont know if you can get them over there but they are a very large type of Lilly and tough but only have a small buttercup like flower

I know we have Nuphar spatterdock here that grow wild, Very tough plants, lots of leaves and small yellow cup like flowers. I've seen some with leaves over 2' wide.

 

[Sooner Dragon]

Intro posted. Sorry, I overlooked that request for new members.

Thanks for the input. I feel I need to find a way for the lilies and koi to coexist. I need the protective plant cover which the lilies will provide the koi. I also want plants that root from the bottom and will survive the winter, unlike floating plants such as hyacinth and water lettuce. And I just prefer the look of lilies.

So do think Nuphar Spatterdock is a good choice? Do you have any recommendations for online vendors?

 

[addy1]

thepondplantgirlshow ebay

http://stores.ebay.com/The-Pond-Plant-Girl-Show-Store?_trksid=p4340.l2563

http://www.ewaterlily.com/


http://www.tricker.com/

I picked some plants up from both, nice healthy ones were sent.

 

[fishin4cars]

nuphar spatterdock is not going to be easy to find as it's not a greatly desired lily due to the small bloom, If you want one I can get you one from the wild if you would like. I sent you a PM for a suggestion on getting water lily's.
For lily's in koi ponds here is my suggestion. Use a fairly large pot, use your desired planting media. I like mixing 100% clay kitty litter and sand, about 60% kitty litter and 40% clean sand. Plant your lily then place river rock silver dollar in size or slightly larger on top of the planting media just enough to cover the media well enough so the koi can't dig. the large rocks keep them from digging and they can't pick them up and move them out of the way. You can substitute river rock with lava rock. Be sure and don't fill the pot to the top, leave at least a couple of inches between the top of the rocks to the lip of the pot, this keep the rocks from being pushed out of the put. I keep tropicals and hardies, and have koi up to about 20" in size. I don't raise small lilies with them, I only use mature plants, I think Butterfly koi do better with plants than standards but I do have both along with about a half dozen goldfish. Make sure you give them some kind of plants they can eat on, this will help in giving them veggies and help reduce the chance of them destroying the lilys. Use some marginal plants, The koi will eat on the roots but won't kill them. Good choices are Taro's, pickerel rush, canna, thalia, Iris's. also other plants that do good year round is Parrot's feather, mare's tail, water willow, snowflake, pennywort, etc. these grow along the surface, and there roots extend down in the pond, Koi will feed of of them as well but they usually can handle the abuse and still grow very well.,

 

[Sooner Dragon]

I can see I have a lot to learn. If Nuphar is hard to find, do you have any other recommendations. My main desire is a lily with large and numerous pads.

 

[stroppy]

I can see I have a lot to learn. If Nuphar is hard to find, do you have any other recommendations. My main desire is a lily with large and numerous pads.

try looking to see if they have it on ebay

 

[addy1]

Sooner, I can check to see if my pink lilies have any tubers I can send without messing up the main plant, I will send one to you. They have grown lots of leaves, lots of flowers and fast, and are hardy. This is my first year with lilies, not sure if you can muck with them mid summer without hurting the main plant. Maybe fishin knows if I can find a tuber in the pot and how to pull it out.

 

[taherrmann4]

Addy do you just take off a piece of the tuber or do you need to dig it out with roots and all? Reason I ask is I have one that is just growing on the bottom of the pond, looks like it broke off at some point and got moved away from the mother plant.

 

[fishin4cars]

Actually Magoo would be a better one to ask about hardies. I know that they produce a main tuber, then off shoots. The offshoots can be broken off to produce new plants. I have recieved them as very small with no roots at all, just let them float for a couple of weeks and the roots start appearing. I divide lilies in the spring. I've worked and had more sucsess with tropicals so maybe someone that has worked with hardies more will chime in. I'll send Magoo a message and see if he can chime in and give us more info. He may can tell you what kind you actually have too.

 

[adavisus]

I keep a range of hardy waterlilies suitable for fishponds, very tough foliage, large pads, good blooms on them too.

I can always find spares available as well rooted, large intact rhisomes that might make 1-2 lb parcel weight, each, lol

Theres no fish in the lilponds here so theres no risk of them being a vector for any koi problems

pm if interested

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://swglist.wordpress.com/

 

[HARO]

If you have unrooted lilies in the pond, you can just cut off a piece with a growing point on it (use a lagre, sharp knife) and pot it up, Good varieties for a koi pond include Attraction (red), Virginalis (white), and Carnea (very light pink). All will Give good coverage, large leaves and lots of flowers. John