Topics

151

Aquatic and Terrestrial Plant Exchange / Lanai Plumeria (Frangipani)

« on: July 22, 2008, 10:26:19 AM »

This isn't exactly a "pond plant", although it sure would make a lovely pond accent....Does anyone happen to have a Lanai Plumeria (Frangipani) cutting for sale? 

152

Pond Chat / What IS fertilizer burn?

« on: July 22, 2008, 04:10:27 AM »

Here is a term that I have been PONDERing (pun intended, hehe)....what IS fertilizer burn anyway?  "too much fertilizer" that much I gather, but why call it fertilzer "burn"?  How is it that the roots are burned by the fertilzer? 

Are there any characteristic foliage signs too?

I think I now know the difference between foliage sunburn vs foliage mold (at least on a lotus anyway), but I wouldn't know fertilzer burn if I saw it.  Any answers?

 

153

Pond Chat / Lotus Question

« on: July 21, 2008, 01:35:38 PM »

Can a lotus tuber still grow if all the growing tips turned into leaves but the leaves died (my fault), however the tuber has newly formed roots and a fertilizer tablet?  Anyone in the know on this one?

154

Pond Chat / Is the lotus doomed?

« on: July 20, 2008, 04:43:40 PM »

Being new to ponding and growing lotus I have discovered a few painful lessons.  The first being that if you use any type of oil spray like Neem oil (diluted with water and an emulsifer) and probably horticultural oil spray on a lotus you will scorch the leaves, no matter when you spray and here is why:  Unlike other plants where the spray drips off harmless and supposedly evaporates, on lotus it seems to embed itself into the structure of the leaf surface.  Where the leaves burned was exactly where the spray was applied, you can even see the individual drops and where they landed.  Then later when it rains unlike normal lotus leaves where the water beads up and rolls off the surface, the rain sticks to the oil spray spot.  You can't get it off the leaves once its sprayed.  Believe me I tried...even with a rag soaked in water and dishsoap.... (yeah crazy idea, but I thought I'd try).

Long story short, I lost all my leaves on a newly budding lotus that had only 5 leaves and I am worried that the plant will not survive as I do not see any other new growing tips present.  There are still roots that are newly formed and seem alive (white and pink tinged) though.  And, I placed a fertilizer tablet in the pot near the roots.  Has anyone ever had a plant survive after something happpened to all its leaves e.g maybe after eaten by insects and stripped bare?

Side note:  It is a Chawan Basu lotus, and the second thing I learned is that this type in particular wilts in the extreme summer heat (lesson 2) .  In fact its first 2 leaves were sunburned while it was in a small container.  I subsequently moved it to a deeper and larger container and started spraying it with the Neem oil just in case it was some mold problem (I didn't know the difference between mold and sunburn at the time...I do now-Lesson 3), hence the scorching and demise of the remaining leaves (lesson above).

Any thoughts, comments, personal experiences?

155

Aquatic and Terrestrial Plant Exchange / plants considered "invasive" in my area.....

« on: July 20, 2008, 04:17:05 PM »

Hello,  I have recently discovered that all the cool floating plants that I like i.e. water lettuce, water hyacinth, parrots feather and others are not legal in the state I live in (FL).   
I tried talking to a local water garden landscaper about this "invasive" issue not being an issue if its a confined pond/tub.  He said that although a private pond is enclosed the problem is that birds will eat the seeds and poop the seeds in the natural waterways, hence still an "invasive" plant problem...   I asked then why is there a nursery in another county in the same state where it is illegal selling these plants?  His answer was that as long as they did not sell it to residents of the state it was okay.  Only orders out of the state allowed...bummer. I am at a loss for floating plants that are both interesting and useful for clarifying the water.  Does anyone know of other interesting equivalents that might be legal in my state?     

156

Pond Chat / Minimal requirements of a water lily pond/tub...

« on: July 20, 2008, 04:50:31 AM »

Hello, I posted this question within another post and felt that it might be better asked outside the post as a new topic.  Hopefully I'll get some more detailed answers...

 Is it necessary to have to have some sort of pump or (electrical) filter in a pond if only water lilies and aquatic plants are in the pond?  Or, are water lilies like lotus plants and can just grow in a tub without any sort of pump device? 


  What changes if I want to add maybe 1 or 2 small goldfish to eat the mosqitoes and constant toad eggs being laid in my pond/tubs?  I have learned that the toadpoles devoured my newly aquired anacharis plants.    Don't know if they would also try to eat any newly formed lily leaflets.  Maybe someone can tell me.

157

Aquatic and Terrestrial Plant Exchange / general inquiry for waterlily and lotus sellers

« on: July 19, 2008, 11:31:53 AM »

Hello,

  I was wondering if any of the sellers of water lily and lotus plants had a website that I could browse through ( so I can salivate over) and plan for what might interest me for next year's season. 

158

Pond Chat / Subdue Fungicide

« on: July 19, 2008, 11:25:51 AM »

Hello, 
 Can anyone tell me where to get Subdue Fungicide at a more affordable price than $200-$300 per quart?  I had the bad experience of purchasing a changeable water lily from an ponding online store that sent me a specimen with crown rot.  Being new to ponding I did not recognize the "rank" smell of the plant (when I took it out of the bag) as being the first indication that something was amiss.  Also, I did not realize that healthy roots should be white, not dark brown/black.  I had assumed that this was supposed to be the way they were and when the plant died a couple of weeks later I thought that maybe I had done something wrong.  It took me about a month to figure out what it really was.  Had I know earlier I would have made a complaint sooner and requested an exchange.

  So, now I have decided that I should soak all new specimens in Subdue fungicide for 2 hours (if bare root) like various "experts" suggest if I am concerned about this happening again.  Problem is that this stuff is not sold in local big box stores and it seems to be very expensive.  Any ideas?