New plants added to pnd help ?

[dazraz]

Hi i have just bought a selection of plants for my pond but was wondering does the bulb on the picture below have to be potted or weighted under water or just left to float around the pond like the bloke in the shop told me ?

 

[mrsclem]

It looks like a water lily. Check HTH's post on "my current thinking on waterlilies". It does need to be potted and set in water1-3' with not too much current.

 

[addy1]

I put my lilies in oil pans with kitty litter. You don't want the tuber just floating on the top, I did that once (forgot about it) the plant did not do well.

If you pot yours make sure the growing tip is above the litter, pea gravel etc whatever you use.

You can also anchor it down with a rock

 

[adam9280]

I could type out the directions but this video is good. I used some clear shallow plastic shoe box containers from Home Depot for $1 each. Once they get bigger I'll probably go to a litter box size container like addy1 stated above. The water lilies grow horizontally through the container so you don't have to use a deep pot. Once they reach the other side of the container you should "re-pot" it and send it growing back the other way. You can cut off the dead rhizome (black burnt hotdog part of the plant) if it gets too big. I used a layer of sand to hold the dirt down but pea gravel is recommended if you have koi.