I don't grow tropicals, to much winter work. Just hardies. I don't want dirt in the pond any more to messy and smelly. So I want to use cleaner media. Pea gravel seems to be the best option so far. Still open for others!
What to use
- Thread starter pondlady
- Start date
I think pea gravel will solve my problem with the lilies' pots floating up in the middle of summer when they really get growing. Do you fertilize your lilies? The closed containers I have been using keep the pond tabs from leaching into the pond and adding to the algae problem. I assume you cannot use pond tabs with pea gravel in ventilated containers. ??
Don't know, I have never added any food or chemicals to my plants. They all grow well. In fact I have been selling plants for the past 6 months, they grow faster than I can sell them. I don't however, sell my water lillies.
Once a week, I fill a trashcan with excess plants for the trashman to carry away.
Once a week, I fill a trashcan with excess plants for the trashman to carry away.
Hey Billkeyups,
I use regular garden soil in ventilated containers. I use pond tabs only after transplanting. My lilies did great! My water is always clear. I had a little string algae on the rocks of my waterfall for a couple weeks this year, but no algae "problems".
I do plan on changing to pea gravel when I next transplant. The reason for this change is the fact that my 6 mth old lab puppy has decided diving for potted plants is her latest bad habit!! :grumble: I figure the added weight of the gravel and having no mud to dig in might take away some of the fun!
I use regular garden soil in ventilated containers. I use pond tabs only after transplanting. My lilies did great! My water is always clear. I had a little string algae on the rocks of my waterfall for a couple weeks this year, but no algae "problems".
I do plan on changing to pea gravel when I next transplant. The reason for this change is the fact that my 6 mth old lab puppy has decided diving for potted plants is her latest bad habit!! :grumble: I figure the added weight of the gravel and having no mud to dig in might take away some of the fun!
Seems to be a wide spread idea out there to use a cleaner media, Cool. Any one else got something to add? Lets hear it.
I use pea grit for the bottom of the pond - aerating plants are happy in it. I use non-ventilated pots for lilies - all the books & mags suggest that. It keeps nutrients in & stops roots from making holes in liner (mine is a very small pond.) I put clay-ey soil in & a layer of pea grit on top of the soil so I can just push fertilizer tabs down through that. Next year I'll try one of each - grit in pot w/ holes & my usual way to see what the differences are.
pondlady said:
The plant media is less important than making sure that the plants are given the minerals they need to grow and thrive.
When I lived in Texas, I used a mixture of fine gravel and sand. I fertilized my plants using Seachem Flourish tablets. Each tablet can be buried in a planter to give nutrients to your water garden. The neat thing about this product is that they don't have any phosphates or nitrates that feed algae.
Now that I'm in Arizona, I'm using soil with a top layer of sand and gravel. I don't think some of the plants are thriving as much as they did with the Seachem tablets, so come next spring, I'll probably resume fertilizing these plants.
It still all boils down to this! Will lilies grow in pea gravel? is there a better media than soil. I would like a soil less pond. No gravel bottom here ever, sSooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! "EXPERIMENT TIME". Next spring that is. There will be no soil if I can find a way to get around it.
arkay and pondlady,
I agree, maybe an experiment next year planting a lily in pea gravel with a ventilated pot will be a good idea. I too have always read that closed pots and fertilizer tabs are the best way to grow lilies. Mine have always grown well with this method. Other water plants may grow OK in gravel, but to get blooms from a lily, I think you need fertilizer. I will check it out next year.
I agree, maybe an experiment next year planting a lily in pea gravel with a ventilated pot will be a good idea. I too have always read that closed pots and fertilizer tabs are the best way to grow lilies. Mine have always grown well with this method. Other water plants may grow OK in gravel, but to get blooms from a lily, I think you need fertilizer. I will check it out next year.
Here is a reply I got from waterplants.com.................
WaterPlantQuestions:
Another pond forum I read said that planting lilies in ventilated baskets
with pea gravel and no fertilizer would keep the pond cleaner and still
allow the lilies to bloom. I have never tried this but I wonder if the roots
being able to get out into the pond to gather nutirients would help keep
algae down and also gather enough nutrients to make the lily bloom. The
closed container pots I have used for years get root bound and sometimes
float when I use soil and fertilize every two weeks in the summer. I DO get
a lot of blooms this way though. Do you have any experience with ventilated
pots and gravel? My pond is 24" deep, 1400 gallons in full sun.
Thanks from NW FL.
In a message dated 12/1/2008 1:01:25 A.M. Central Standard Time, (e-mail address removed) writes:
Hello,
Yes the pond will be cleaner planting in gravel. However in nature the
lilies don't grow in pea gravel and they get nutrients from the soil they
are planted in. where would the plants get nutrients from in a pond with no
soil?
You already know that planting in soil and fertilizing gives you lots of
blooms. If the plants get root bound that means that you may have planted
them in to small a container. We don't suggest the baskets with all the
holes, because of the tender roots being nibbled on by the fish if you have
them, fish love tender new roots. Also if you do use fertilizer it will
leach out even more into the pond and cause more algae problems. We try to
grow our lilies as close to nature as possible, since that is how they will
perform the best. Gravel doesn't provide any nutrients either, some of the
marginal plants will do okay in gravel, but again I will say we encourage
people to stay as close to the way the plants grow in nature.
Would you be interested in getting our free monthly newsletter? If so go to
www.waterplantsnews.com and sign up, I think you might find it interesting
and helpful.
Sincerely
Sandra
(e-mail address removed)
WaterPlantQuestions:
Another pond forum I read said that planting lilies in ventilated baskets
with pea gravel and no fertilizer would keep the pond cleaner and still
allow the lilies to bloom. I have never tried this but I wonder if the roots
being able to get out into the pond to gather nutirients would help keep
algae down and also gather enough nutrients to make the lily bloom. The
closed container pots I have used for years get root bound and sometimes
float when I use soil and fertilize every two weeks in the summer. I DO get
a lot of blooms this way though. Do you have any experience with ventilated
pots and gravel? My pond is 24" deep, 1400 gallons in full sun.
Thanks from NW FL.
In a message dated 12/1/2008 1:01:25 A.M. Central Standard Time, (e-mail address removed) writes:
Hello,
Yes the pond will be cleaner planting in gravel. However in nature the
lilies don't grow in pea gravel and they get nutrients from the soil they
are planted in. where would the plants get nutrients from in a pond with no
soil?
You already know that planting in soil and fertilizing gives you lots of
blooms. If the plants get root bound that means that you may have planted
them in to small a container. We don't suggest the baskets with all the
holes, because of the tender roots being nibbled on by the fish if you have
them, fish love tender new roots. Also if you do use fertilizer it will
leach out even more into the pond and cause more algae problems. We try to
grow our lilies as close to nature as possible, since that is how they will
perform the best. Gravel doesn't provide any nutrients either, some of the
marginal plants will do okay in gravel, but again I will say we encourage
people to stay as close to the way the plants grow in nature.
Would you be interested in getting our free monthly newsletter? If so go to
www.waterplantsnews.com and sign up, I think you might find it interesting
and helpful.
Sincerely
Sandra
(e-mail address removed)
THANK YOU! So much info. Great prices to. Great help in may decision making.
A pond with fish in it has plenty of nutrients for the plants. Additionally, unless the pond is indoors, dust and leaves blow into it all year round, adding another source of nutrients.
These pond supply stores are making money by telling you that you need this stuff. In over 40 years of ponding, I have never added anything and my plants grow so well, I have to throw away trashcans of plants so they don't overtake the entire pond.
What do you think all these chemicals are doing to your fishes health?
These pond supply stores are making money by telling you that you need this stuff. In over 40 years of ponding, I have never added anything and my plants grow so well, I have to throw away trashcans of plants so they don't overtake the entire pond.
What do you think all these chemicals are doing to your fishes health?
Dr Dave,
I agree with what you say but I feel we are talking about two different subjects. Fertilizer is NOT needed for the plants you are growing and are throwing away, but we are refering to growing lilies. You have not mentioned that you grow or sell them. The closed containers we use are designed to keep the chemicals inside the pot and out of the pond where they would promote algae growth and possibly harm the fish. I think many of us who want a pond full of blooming lilies know that keeping valuable Koi in such a pond is difficult. So I buy feeder comets and they do well in my pond. Even THEY dig around in the pots, but not like Koi.
If you have pictures of thriving and blooming lilies that are growing without soil or fertilizer, I would like to see them. I still plan to try a lily in gravel and a vented pot next season to see what happens.
Thanks for the info.
I agree with what you say but I feel we are talking about two different subjects. Fertilizer is NOT needed for the plants you are growing and are throwing away, but we are refering to growing lilies. You have not mentioned that you grow or sell them. The closed containers we use are designed to keep the chemicals inside the pot and out of the pond where they would promote algae growth and possibly harm the fish. I think many of us who want a pond full of blooming lilies know that keeping valuable Koi in such a pond is difficult. So I buy feeder comets and they do well in my pond. Even THEY dig around in the pots, but not like Koi.
If you have pictures of thriving and blooming lilies that are growing without soil or fertilizer, I would like to see them. I still plan to try a lily in gravel and a vented pot next season to see what happens.
Thanks for the info.
I have lots of water lillies, but I do not sell them at present. It is hard to compete with Home Depot and Costco that sells them at $4.95 ready to go in a ventillated basket. The baskets alone are several dollars bought seperatley.
With water temps as low as they are right now, I don't think many water lilies are blooming in the North American Continent right now. However, two weeks ago, the large ones in my deep pond were blooming. These are ones that are larger than most with stalks that are about 5/16" thick and up to 8' long. The water temp was 64 and dropping so they didn't look too happy.
Where do you suppose plants get nutrients in the wild? If you can afford to spend money on artificial nutrients, that is fine, but they are not needed where you have a nice population of koi. And if water can get into the basket to feed the plant, the artificial chemicals can get out to harm the fish. It is a two way street.
With water temps as low as they are right now, I don't think many water lilies are blooming in the North American Continent right now. However, two weeks ago, the large ones in my deep pond were blooming. These are ones that are larger than most with stalks that are about 5/16" thick and up to 8' long. The water temp was 64 and dropping so they didn't look too happy.
Where do you suppose plants get nutrients in the wild? If you can afford to spend money on artificial nutrients, that is fine, but they are not needed where you have a nice population of koi. And if water can get into the basket to feed the plant, the artificial chemicals can get out to harm the fish. It is a two way street.
I know a lot of that stuff is a sales trap to get your money. I want so much to avoid dirt of any kind in my pond. I am going to try the gravel thing first.If it looks bad for the lilies I can always go back to dirt, I have lots of that on hand. Thanks Dr. Dave and you billkeyups as well you both have been a great help.