The pond dig has begun!

[koiguy1969]

10 hours a day on my hyacinths...theyre doing great!,,,lots of sun and moving water is what hyacinths like...their natural habitat is the rivers and basins of south america.

 

[buckry]

Yeah, I've corraled mine with fishing line to the side of the waterfall so they get a good stream through their roots 24/7.

 

[CountryEscape]

Hmm ... I have mine corralled as well, in netted rings to keep the koi from munching on the roots, and in a netted ring and non-netted ring in the goldfish pond. Didn't see any difference in the rate of "death" in either. One net is about 3' from the stream overflow, so it should have had plenty of moving water, or I would have thought so. I do remember when I ordered them on Ebay that another seller mentioned that they liked something in the water that my water did not have ideal. I'm thinking it was the hardness of the water, but not positive. My water is fairly hard from my wells, and that's what I use to fill my ponds.

 

[buckry]

yeah, my water is very hard, it's always maxxed out on my tests.

 

[CountryEscape]

Well, darn it! Why in the world do my hyacinths not live then??? I have done everything others have said worked for them, still with no luck. I think I'm a floating plant failure, or there is something about my water that doesn't do well with some plants. I have a floating plant that the guy said would take off and really multiply, easiest to grow, and the 3 of them are holding their own, but not looking all that healthy, some yellow and brown leaves. I have 2 in the goldfish pond, and one in the stream. the one in the stream does seem to be doing better, so may have to move the others into the stream or just below it!

 

[buckry]

My hyacinths seem to always look a little sickly. The newest leaves are always lemon lime colored, and there are always brown edges and dying nodes. I do my best to keep them pruned, roots as well, but with all of the other tasks I have to do that one is low down on my list.

 

[taherrmann4]

My lettuce and hyacinths do better in shallow moving water. What I mean by shallow is from 4-8" deep. They are also in full sun and have grown like crazy this year. Will be giving or throwing them out here shortly as they fill up my creek.

 

[pondlover]

My hyacinths are multiplying like crazy but I have yet to have one bloom.

 

[CountryEscape]

I did a test over a month ago, and put some in my stream, a few in the bog near the outlet, and some free floating in with the lily pads, which keep them from getting into the skimmer. All seem to be doing the same ... dying. There are a few that are greener but for the most part, they are all brown. I wondered if pruning the dead nodes off was killing them, so kept a section of them not pruned, but they died, too. :-( It has to be something with my water that they don't like, I would think.

 

[CometKeith]

I have noticed floaters do not like salty water. CE, buckry, do either of you add salt to your pond?

 

[CountryEscape]

Nope, never have added salt, but I know my sister in AZ swears by it. I think the plants tend to not care much for the salt, and since I love my plants almost as much as my fish, I've not ever added any salt. Good try, though!

 

[taherrmann4]

Are there very many roots coming off them? Could be your fish are eating the roots causing them to die, my koi will desimate the floaters if I am not feeding them regularly. May need to build a koiguy floating planter thingy ( I think it was him)

 

[CountryEscape]

Haha, T'Mann I have a "koi guy floating planter thingy". In fact, I have experimented with them in the goldfish pond, 2 sets in the floating planter (fish can't get to the roots, unless they jump into the net, which they HAVE done!) and one set in a ring but no netting. Seemed to do the same. Koi pond, they died faster than the goldfish pond. Not sure why in that regard, though. Maybe larger bog in the goldfish pond, and that kept the water slightly cooler? Thermometers show it is always within a degree or two from each other, so probably not.

 

[CountryEscape]

It was so blasted hot today, 111 degrees at I think around 2:30, that I donned my swimsuit and took my mask and snorkel and got into the koi pond. There were some lily leaves that I'd not been able to reach to prune, so I got that done today, and cooled off at the same time. I was thrilled to see at least 3 different baby fish, probably goldfish, that are about 2" long already. One I've seen several times, and am hoping it's a baby koi. It is marked really different than my goldie babies have been, but we shall see. It's mostly white, with red on the top and bottom fin, and black tail, or something like that. LOL
The big turtle was close to the surface across the pond and I got him in this picture.

My buddy, Bully, the biggest bullfrog in the koi pond, poses so nicely, it's hard NOT to take more pics of him.

My tropical lily, Miami Rose, has been blooming, but since I was gone last weekend and since it opens during the day while I'm at work, I've not had a chance to take any more pics. This picture was taken at about noon, and I swear I looked at the bud at 11 and it was tightly closed yet! I love the color!

These pink and white lilies were so pretty today, too!

I'm waiting for my new Laguna to be delivered, hopefully Fri or Mon. My Sunterra shot craps on the weekend, and has been mailed in. Good news is it's under 2 year warranty, and it's 1 year old. Bad news is that I probably won't see it for 2 weeks or ????? I am using my air pump to push oxygen into the pond for now, but the filter is getting stagnant, and so is the pool at the end of the waterfall, so I've been trying to add water into the filter when the pond needs a refill, just to keep the water a little more fresh. It's beginning to stink, so will try to remember to do that water change daily.

 

[j.w]

Gosh CE things around your pond are just blooming like crazy. Must be all that hot sunshine! Love Bully,he's a beauty! Course I have a big love for all the turtles that I wish were living around here too.Hope you get your new pump soon! I'm waiting for my gator head to arrive!