waterlilies and their pots

Ok guys. I have a question about water lilies. I have about 15 of them and
the problem is those pond pots we use to plant them in. You know the ones I
mean. They're the large size black plastic stiff mesh like ones. I line
them with a poly/cotton cloth to help keep the soil from oozing out. Then I
cover the soil with gravel. The soil still oozes out as the lily sinks
lower and lower in the pot. What kind of pots are you people using for your
water lilies? What kind of soil? Is anyone using large regular plastic or
clay/crock pots?

Right now I'm using a nice heavy clay soil they thrive in. All suggestions
are appreciated. :-)

--
Carol...
My website:
http://www.heartoftn.net/users/windsong/index.html
[Insert humorous, clever or profound quote here]
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Hi Carol - I tried the mesh like pots and had the same problem - I switched
to the semi stiff solid plastic ones - work fine, - I also quit using pea
gravel and went to larger "lake stone" - smooth, 1" - 2" dia - now fish
don't pick up stones and spit them all over pond floor :~
Gale :~)
Ok guys. I have a question about water lilies. I have about 15 of them
and
the problem is those pond pots we use to plant them in. You know the ones
I
mean. They're the large size black plastic stiff mesh like ones. I line
them with a poly/cotton cloth to help keep the soil from oozing out. Then
I
cover the soil with gravel. The soil still oozes out as the lily sinks
lower and lower in the pot. What kind of pots are you people using for
your
water lilies? What kind of soil? Is anyone using large regular plastic
or
clay/crock pots?

Right now I'm using a nice heavy clay soil they thrive in. All
suggestions
are appreciated. :-)

--
Carol...
My website:
http://www.heartoftn.net/users/windsong/index.html
[Insert humorous, clever or profound quote here]
~~~~~~~~~{@ ~~~~~~~~~{@ ~~~~~~~~~{@

On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 22:38:10 -0600, "~ Windsong ~"
wrote:

Ok guys. I have a question about water lilies. I have about 15 of them and
the problem is those pond pots we use to plant them in. You know the ones I
mean. They're the large size black plastic stiff mesh like ones. I line
them with a poly/cotton cloth to help keep the soil from oozing out. Then I
cover the soil with gravel. The soil still oozes out as the lily sinks
lower and lower in the pot. What kind of pots are you people using for your
water lilies? What kind of soil? Is anyone using large regular plastic or
clay/crock pots?

Right now I'm using a nice heavy clay soil they thrive in. All suggestions
are appreciated. :-)

--
Carol...
My website:
http://www.heartoftn.net/users/windsong/index.html
[Insert humorous, clever or profound quote here]
~~~~~~~~~{@ ~~~~~~~~~{@ ~~~~~~~~~{@

I use 18-inch diameter 7-inch deep plastic pots from Home Depot.
No holes. I've heard that hardy lilies want large diameter shallow
pots. Last season I used the Schultz Aquatic soil - it's like a
ceramic and is perfectly clean. I'm getting ready to re-pot now and
will be using a mix of that, composted steer manure, and a little 'Koi
Clay'. Clay soil seems to be popular, but I don't have access to
any. I tried aKwatik fertilizers last year but found they clogged too
easily. Making my own this year.

Steve J. Noll | Ventura California
| Glass Block Pond http://www.kissingfrogs.tv

I don't use any soil in my lillys and they do fine. I use those baskets
with just river rock in them.



http://community.webtv.net/rebeljoe/POND

On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 22:38:10 -0600, "~ Windsong ~"
wrote:

Ok guys. I have a question about water lilies. I have about 15 of them and
the problem is those pond pots we use to plant them in. You know the ones I
mean. They're the large size black plastic stiff mesh like ones. I line
them with a poly/cotton cloth to help keep the soil from oozing out. Then I
cover the soil with gravel. The soil still oozes out as the lily sinks
lower and lower in the pot. What kind of pots are you people using for your
water lilies? What kind of soil? Is anyone using large regular plastic or
clay/crock pots?

Lily pots have always been a bit of a problem for me and the best
choice I found was 3 gallon paint buckets, but they fill up in a
season.

Last year I tried one lily in part of a 30 gallon plastic barrel and
it bloomed really well. I use garden soil and cover it with stones.
I do wonder how I'm going to get it out of the pond when I have to
re-pot, probably next year.

Regards,

Hal

"~ Windsong ~" wrote in message ...
Ok guys. I have a question about water lilies. I have about 15 of them and
the problem is those pond pots we use to plant them in.

I gave up on trying to keep my water lily contained in a pot. For the
past several years, it has insisted on hopping out of the pot, so I
just let it do what it wants. There is still some of it in the
original pot that it came in, but most of it has hopped over and has
rooted in the bottom of the pond. The roots don't seem to care that
they don't have any soil surrounding them. I use a 6' Rubbermaid
stock tank for a pond liner, with large river rock on the bottom. I
imagine that there is a network of water lily roots under the rocks.
I shove a few fertilizer tabs under the rocks where the lilies have
grown up to help them bloom. I have over 100 blooms every season.
Anyway, I've had this plant for about 10 years now, and when it starts
to get out of control, I just hack part of it off and give it to
friends who have ponds. People sometimes shudder when they hear about
how roughly I treat my lilies, but these plants are tough as hell, so
I don't worry about them. They are just beautiful year after year
with almost no special care.
Gary

its not unusual for a lily to flower about four weeks after potting
up, in summer. Some lilies are more prolific than others, and much
will depend on the condition of the water lilies roots at the time of
planting

Lilies have two types of roots, feeder roots (no branching, often 4"
to 6" long... these do all the work)
and tether roots (much longer, many branches)

If your lily had intact feeder roots when it was planted, it may not
notice it has been moved... if the feeder roots were destroyed in
moving, the lilies chances of survival may be seriously set back,
possibly fatally

Feeder roots may take a month or so to establish... then they start a
cycle of leaves, then buds...

Some lilies have very low rates of buds to leaves, some very high
flower ratios

The ph of a pool can make a big difference too, if the ph is way over
8ph, that may well hamper the plant...

To pot up a good big crown, scoop a cavity for the feeder roots and
make sure they aren't exposed to fish grazing. A soil of a heavy loam
and clay mix is fine, soft and rich, easy for feeder roots to
penetrate (gravel, stone and sand is not going to help the feeder
roots)

Add no fertilisers or manure to the mix as that's likely to burn the
fragile feeder roots...

Press the rhisome to the soil surface only, maybe weigh it down with
some stones to hold it down, make sure light can get to the rhisome...
Place 2" stones across the soil surface so fish cant pester the soil
in the lily tub. Place the rhisome so it has the maximum space to
travel across the lily tub before it ambles into open water.... once a
good set of roots are established on a pot, a lily can cope quite well
growing off into open water later, very convenient to crop, when they
grow out of the pot...

A water lily grown and cropped like that is going to be in a vastly
better condition than anything going cheap in a box from a retailer.

waterlilies can grow quite well absolutely bare root... as long as
fish can't graze the brittle feeder roots they will do better than
potted lilies, if the water is steadily fertile. The best lilies I
ever saw were usually rhisomes that had ambled well out of the lily
tub and the roots could grow without any inhibition.
Gravel is a ghastly plant medium... when you try to divide anything
you won't be able to do a neat knife cut and what roots can get going
will be shredded when you need to divide the plant
Water lilies have two distinct types of root, the long many branched
roots are tether roots, ground gripping fellas only. Some varieties
tether roots can be 4' long
Look carefully and you will spot the feeder roots, they are not
branched, that's what makes the water lily chug, when theres a good
set of them established the plant starts to march with shoots and
buds. The feeder roots are usually 4" to 6" long, take care a water
lily never loses its feeder roots, as it is touch and go if the
rhisome will be able to form a new set. (Big failing of the cheapo
water lilies from Walmarts, this)
Water lily feeder roots really like a soft media to start in, they
are quite brittle, like bamboo shots, a potting mix of half clay and
half dark loam creating a soft 'goo' in a large plant pot is ideal.
.......A couple of things can really suppress lily growth....
turbulence near waterfalls or sprinklers, they hate moving water...
(except the nuphars, they like moving water)
If you have numbers of fish in your pond, it is possible they are
grazing on the lilies feeder roots, this can destroy a water lily.
Alas, many pond folk are sold silly weave baskets, which permit fish
to eat the tasty brittle feeder root tips Switching your lily to a
solid side container, with knife piercings every 4" (to prevent soil
going acid in unventilated container) might make a difference
.......Fish grazing the feeder roots can cripple, and kill lilies....
those silly weave aquatic baskets are certain death for most lilies,
the fish can get at the feeder root tips that amble out the basket,
before they can get going...
.......Another 'kiss of death' for waterlilies is lily root rot. Some
nurseries have been known to sell infected water lilies knowing full
well they will be selling another lily to you next year... that fungus
will destroy every lily that goes in a pond.
Think twice about buying water lilies from anyone who pretends not
know about lily root rot.... Only a few varieties of nymphaea are
capable of outgrowing that disease when it starts...

In a good position, well planted, most water lilies will be flowering
well in a month in summer, if they aren't, something is not quite
right....

A lily tub can be as simple as a black bucket, try not to be tempted
to use the silly weave baskets that are sold in retailers, they do
nothing to stop any grazing fish from wrecking the brittle feeder
root tips... any ordinary garden soil is fine with a good proportion
of clay in it, many lilies will only thrive when they get the trace
minerals that clay is loaded with.... pinning the rhisome down with
some large stones usually works, to hold it down while roots are
formed.

Make sure the growing point of the crown gets daylight and has plenty
of room to grow across the bucket... As big a tub as possible will
keep it going longer, once established the lily tubs main function is
to anchor the mass of foliage...while not so large you can't lift it
out for future pruning... a few 'stab' holes every 4" or so should be
adequate to ventilate the soil so it doesn't go off (turns acidic)
within the confines of the container

regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html

What kind of pots are you people using for your
water lilies? What kind of soil? Is anyone using large regular plastic or
clay/crock pots?

Right now I'm using a nice heavy clay soil they thrive in. All suggestions
are appreciated. :-)

"Gale Pearce" wrote in message
...
Hi Carol - I tried the mesh like pots and had the same problem - I
switched
to the semi stiff solid plastic ones - work fine, - I also quit using pea
gravel and went to larger "lake stone" - smooth, 1" - 2" dia - now fish
don't pick up stones and spit them all over pond floor :~
=====================
Thanks Gale,
I am using the semi-STIFF square plastic pots. They're made for pond
plants. Even with a fine cloth the clay soil oozes out the sides and
bottom. The butterfly koi in this pond don't bother the gravel much.
--
Carol...
My website:
http://www.heartoftn.net/users/windsong/index.html
[Insert humorous, clever or profound quote here]
~~~~~~~~~{@ ~~~~~~~~~{@ ~~~~~~~~~{@

"Steve J. Noll" wrote in message
...
suggestions

I use 18-inch diameter 7-inch deep plastic pots from Home Depot.
No holes.

## Ok, this is what I was asking - do the hardy lilies thrive in a solid pot
or perhaps one with only one bottom hole. I wasn't sure if their roots
needed more water circulation than a solid wall pot allowed. I can look for
these pots at my Home Depot here in TN. I already have a few I used as
planters for the porch last summer. :-)

I've heard that hardy lilies want large diameter shallow
pots. Last season I used the Schultz Aquatic soil - it's like a
ceramic and is perfectly clean. I'm getting ready to re-pot now and
will be using a mix of that, composted steer manure, and a little 'Koi
Clay'.

## What is koi clay? Our native clay grows beautiful water lilies. I add
some rose fertilizer sticks and Ironite to the potting soil (clean clay from
our own land). I try and do them every year because they grow so rapidly.
I hope to take new pics for my website this coming summer, now that I have a
digital camera and better photo processing software.

Clay soil seems to be popular, but I don't have access to
any. I tried aKwatik fertilizers last year but found they clogged too
easily. Making my own this year.

## What clogged too easily? Your filter????

Steve J. Noll | Ventura California
| Glass Block Pond http://www.kissingfrogs.tv

--
Carol...
My website:
http://www.heartoftn.net/users/windsong/index.html
[Insert humorous, clever or profound quote here]
~~~~~~~~~{@ ~~~~~~~~~{@ ~~~~~~~~~{@

"REBEL JOE" wrote in message
...
I don't use any soil in my lillys and they do fine. I use those baskets
with just river rock in them.
=============================
I tried that several years ago and my lilies didn't do well in the gravel at
all. They were small, the leaves were small and pale and there were few
flowers. Several didn't survive the winter. However, my water iris and
most other plants will do fairly well in a fine gravel (not sand). I think
I'm going to eliminate the pond pots and use the regular solid side pots
from now on.
--
Carol...
My website:
http://www.heartoftn.net/users/windsong/index.html
[Insert humorous, clever or profound quote here]
~~~~~~~~~{@ ~~~~~~~~~{@ ~~~~~~~~~{@