Still need help, Questions about Pond Plants............

Well not too many people posted to my last question, but thank you to
the three who did However I'm still confused, I went to look for pond
plants at Walmart and home depot as someone suggested, and I now
realize that the plants are not in "water", but soil So can I just
take these plants and shake all the soil off then put in my pond? It
seems they would die? I did find a list of plants to try. Also what can
I use as "soil", pond soil is very exspensive, 6.47 for a small bag?
I also have just a few questions about my filter, what else might a
place like home depot call a Bulkhead fitting? I just couldn't find it,
maybe this is the wrong kind of store?? The person I asked said that he
hadn't heard of it?? And I didn't see anything there like the online
picture. About the lava rock, I got a bag of this today and it's very
small like gravel, and very heavy? It's the only one they had, but I'm
not sure how this would stay out of the sediment area of the filter?
Sorry for the confusion, but I'm very new to this and have no clue when
it comes to pond plants. Ouida

"Ann505" wrote in message
oups.com...
Well not too many people posted to my last question, but thank you to
the three who did However I'm still confused, I went to look for pond
plants at Walmart and home depot as someone suggested, and I now
realize that the plants are not in "water", but soil So can I just
take these plants and shake all the soil off then put in my pond?

## Which plants? Most need to be in soil or finer gravel to thrive. What
would hold them up and in place if you just dropped them into your pond?

It
seems they would die? I did find a list of plants to try. Also what can
I use as "soil", pond soil is very exspensive, 6.47 for a small bag?

## Any good garden soil not to loaded with organic matter. I use the soil
from behind our house. It's a red clay and the plants thrive in it. I only
fertilize my water lilies.

I also have just a few questions about my filter, what else might a
place like home depot call a Bulkhead fitting? I just couldn't find it,
maybe this is the wrong kind of store?? The person I asked said that he
hadn't heard of it?? And I didn't see anything there like the online
picture.

## Try ACE Hardware or any farm type of store.

About the lava rock, I got a bag of this today and it's very
small like gravel, and very heavy? It's the only one they had, but I'm
not sure how this would stay out of the sediment area of the filter?

## That's the wrong size. You need the lava rock that's 1 to 2"s.

Sorry for the confusion, but I'm very new to this and have no clue when
it comes to pond plants. Ouida

## Google is your friend. There are hundreds of pages out there that cover
all kinds of water/pond plants. :-)
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o
http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killf..._troll_faq.htm

Yes I have been learning a lot more about pond plants, but it seems
some of the (I Guess) most basic things are hard to find. Or should I
be more honest and say the time to google can be hard to find. Thank
you very much for your response, I thought this aquatic garden soil was
much different for potting soil. Now I still would want to put the
plants in pond planters, that look like strainer baskets, right? Again
thanks, Ouida.

A few things I've learned from the group....

if you are planting plants in the pond, you can put soil in if you choose,
but what also seems to work well, is just putting some rocks on top of the
bulb, or around the plant to anchor in it the pot.

You can use regular plastic pots, or the "screen" type.. each work well. The
planst will grow like crazy though, and when you remove them for splitting
them, you'll have to cut the pot off around the roots.

I prefer black or dark green plastic pots, because they cannot be seen in
the water for the most part.

Lava rock is a PITA to clean... if you must use bought bagged rock, use
smooth stream washed rocks.. they are easy to clean. Think rocks that'll fit
in the palm of your hand.

To get some plants in the ater right away, go to the grocery store, and buy
some watercress, and just dump it in the pond.. no preparation is needed. If
it's cheap by you, buy enough to cover like 1/4 of your pond's surface.. if
not, just let it grow some.

Most places are at the end of the growing season, stock wise. My local
walmart will no teven be getting any more topsoil in until next year!
Finding pond plants will be har dbecause of this.

Many people in the group have plants going crazy, and will gladly ship you
some for the cost of postage.. water lettuce, and water hyacynth are the
ones that will grow the fastest.

And if you are still building the pond, build it twice the size you think
you want.. otherwise next year, you'll be increasing it's size. You'll
always want more and more, and larger ponds are easier to maintain then tiny
ones.



Hope some of this helps!

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)
Gareee's Homepage:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine.../mainframe.htm

"Ann505" wrote in message
oups.com...
Yes I have been learning a lot more about pond plants, but it seems
some of the (I Guess) most basic things are hard to find. Or should I
be more honest and say the time to google can be hard to find. Thank
you very much for your response, I thought this aquatic garden soil was
much different for potting soil. Now I still would want to put the
plants in pond planters, that look like strainer baskets, right? Again
thanks, Ouida.
========================
I only use those pond pots for my water lilies. I use regular cheapo
plastic pots (with drainage holes in the bottom) for all the other pond
plants. I place a piece of plastic from an old grocery bag on the bottom to
help keep the soil from leaking out underwater. I cover the soil with about
1" of any size gravel for the same purpose. The only plant that really
wants fertilizer other than my lilies are the arrowheads and the lotus.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"Ann505" wrote in message
oups.com...
Well not too many people posted to my last question, but thank you to
the three who did However I'm still confused, I went to look for pond
plants at Walmart and home depot as someone suggested, and I now
realize that the plants are not in "water", but soil So can I just
take these plants and shake all the soil off then put in my pond? It
seems they would die? I did find a list of plants to try. Also what can
I use as "soil", pond soil is very exspensive, 6.47 for a small bag?
I also have just a few questions about my filter, what else might a
place like home depot call a Bulkhead fitting? I just couldn't find it,
maybe this is the wrong kind of store?? The person I asked said that he
hadn't heard of it?? And I didn't see anything there like the online
picture. About the lava rock, I got a bag of this today and it's very
small like gravel, and very heavy? It's the only one they had, but I'm
not sure how this would stay out of the sediment area of the filter?
Sorry for the confusion, but I'm very new to this and have no clue when
it comes to pond plants. Ouida

Here is a link to an online source of bulkhead fittings:

http://www.watergardengems.com/pvc/bulkheads.html

Pond plants will come in "soil", usually heavy clay soil. If it is in
potting soil, you want to remove it from this soil, clean it, and re-plant
it in heavy clay (you can use bentonite clay if you have access to a cheap
supply - well drillers supply companies and industrial pump companies
usually will sell you a 100 lbs bag for about $7.00). Others here will no
doubt provide more detailed information than I can right now. As for the
lava rock, I'm not sure what you are trying to do with it, unless you plan
to use it for a filter substrate. I don't know how your system is set up,
so I can't answer your guestion.

Thank you very much. I will look for some watercress as soon as my pond
is up and running. It should be up this weekend. That's just what I
needed, some ideas to get me started But my pond is just 220gal
performed (with 30gal veggie filter), I had a bigger one but never put
plants in it. We had to remove it when my daughter started to walk. I
only had it for a year or so and it was never really finished. So I am
hoping this pond will get hubby excited to dig a bigger one, again. LOL

On 10 Aug 2005 09:33:37 -0700, "Ann505"
wrote:

Well not too many people posted to my last question, but thank you to
the three who did However I'm still confused, I went to look for pond
plants at Walmart and home depot as someone suggested, and I now
realize that the plants are not in "water", but soil So can I just
take these plants and shake all the soil off then put in my pond? It
seems they would die? I did find a list of plants to try. Also what can
I use as "soil", pond soil is very exspensive, 6.47 for a small bag?
I also have just a few questions about my filter, what else might a
place like home depot call a Bulkhead fitting? I just couldn't find it,
maybe this is the wrong kind of store?? The person I asked said that he
hadn't heard of it?? And I didn't see anything there like the online
picture. About the lava rock, I got a bag of this today and it's very
small like gravel, and very heavy? It's the only one they had, but I'm
not sure how this would stay out of the sediment area of the filter?
Sorry for the confusion, but I'm very new to this and have no clue when
it comes to pond plants. Ouida


In addition to what others have posted, the "Pond Soil" you saw sold
is something I posted about here some time ago. People responded that
it can destroy a pump, so be very careful with it. We just use dirt,
clean dirt, no toxics added that we know of.

In article .com,
says...
Well not too many people posted to my last question, but thank you to
the three who did However I'm still confused, I went to look for pond
plants at Walmart and home depot as someone suggested, and I now
realize that the plants are not in "water", but soil So can I just
take these plants and shake all the soil off then put in my pond? It
seems they would die? I did find a list of plants to try. Also what can
I use as "soil", pond soil is very exspensive, 6.47 for a small bag?
I also have just a few questions about my filter, what else might a
place like home depot call a Bulkhead fitting? I just couldn't find it,
maybe this is the wrong kind of store?? The person I asked said that he
hadn't heard of it?? And I didn't see anything there like the online
picture. About the lava rock, I got a bag of this today and it's very
small like gravel, and very heavy? It's the only one they had, but I'm
not sure how this would stay out of the sediment area of the filter?
Sorry for the confusion, but I'm very new to this and have no clue when
it comes to pond plants. Ouida


I have a month head start on you and here is what I have observed...the
pond (water) plants at Home Depot are seasonal..what they may have you
will find discounted but are in bad shape...I bought a number of things
at Lowes for a buck each and most seem to be growing good/ok now. Those
and a few other plants bought at a water garden store have the soil with
pea gravel on top of the soil...In the Vegi filter bare roots I have
Cana Lily, Caladium bulbs, 2 hibiscus and a couple of sweet potato that
are thriving...I also have some Cana and 2 hibiscus in the main pond,
but just covered with pea gravel. One hibiscus died, the other looks
rough but is putting on a couple of buds and the cana is not growing as
fast as the ones in the VF but is putting out new growth.

You might check with a swimming pool store on the bulkheads. Though, I
got mine from a water garden specialty store.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

Ann505 wrote:

snip


Or should I
be more honest and say the time to google can be hard to find.


snip



Careful. Some folks might get offended that you don't have time to do
the research but have the time for them to do it for you. Look up some
water garden web sites. A lot of them have the information you are
looking for. Go to a book store or library and find a book on water
gardening. Find the time to read them. I found time a few years back
when I took a few books to read on a plane flight to Hawaii. I know
it's not easy sometimes as work, kids, pets, TEENS and etc. are always
wanting a piece of your time. But the information on the basics is out
there and it's allot easier to get it all in one place than piece by
piece from us. After that, it's all about what works best in your
particular situation. After all, we don't all live in the same zones.