Topics

1

Pond Chat / Lotus Power

« on: July 23, 2016, 07:54:16 PM »

Earlier this year, I divided and transplanted a portion of Frankly Scarlet lotus into a real lotus tub.  The top circumference was about the same as the old pot I had used but the base was quite a bigger.   I think the lotus appreciated the extra room because I have one flower in bloom and 3 other buds in the wings.  This year has not been as warm as last year so I was worried that I wouldn't get blooms but so far it is doing better than my water lilies.

redberry

2

Pond Chat / Pond Care Sale at Drs Foster and Smith

« on: April 09, 2016, 07:40:30 PM »

Hi:

I receive e-mail notifications from Drs Foster and Smith website regarding sales and the latest one I received advertises 20% off pond care products.  They have free economy shipping if over $49 and flat-rate economy shipping at $5.99 if less than $49.  I just thought I'd let people know.  I am not affiliated with them in any way.

redberry

3

Pond Chat / First Lily Pad of Season!

« on: April 04, 2016, 07:29:25 PM »

Hi:

I was surprised to see this lily pad from Little Sue already making an appearance especially since this is the shadiest tank.  (This is also a test post since I got an error message for my attempt to respond to the "Side kicks" post.)

Anita

4

Pond Chat / Late season photos

« on: October 09, 2015, 07:34:24 PM »

Obviously the lily plants are dying down but here are some shots of late season shots.  I was surprised to find this Blue Star tropical in bloom yesterday.  The Perry's Baby Red bud has been at the surface for quite some time and it seemed like it was trying to open today.  I will be interested to see if it opens any further or if it gives up and sinks.  And finally I have a couple shots of Dana Delight which has some pitchers that are quite tall and "showy".

I need to start pulling the tropical lilies soon and getting them ready for storage. 

redberry

5

Pond Chat / Tropical Lilies in Small Tank

« on: July 17, 2015, 07:25:33 PM »

I saw Matherfish had posted a photo of Miami Rose in his post.  That flower is looking very familiar here too.    I had multiple tubers to place in various tanks and I decided to see how it would do in a 40gal tank.  So far it has been doing very well...here is a photo of a blooming flower and the multiple buds under the surface of the water.  The Blue Star that I decided to place in there just started to bloom.  I had potted it up into a larger pot only a couple of weeks ago.  I wish that I had not lost Pamela, a light blue tropical, since I think that would look good with Miami Rose.

redberry

6

Pond Chat / red, white, and blues

« on: July 10, 2015, 06:54:21 PM »

I, too, got the Forbidden Message yesterday when I tried to post photos so I will try again since Frank was successful.  The really warm temperatures are ending here so the blooming may slow down.  However, I was pleased to see Marliac Alba and Perry's Baby Red in bloom at the same time as 3 flowers from a Rhonda Kay.  Then today I found Miami Rose in bloom too.    All of my Hardy (except Marliac) and Tropical lilies are from Kat who doesn't seem to be active on this forum anymore.

redberry

7

Pond Chat / More Hardy blooms

« on: July 06, 2015, 07:05:53 PM »

I don't have a vast selection of lilies but I tried to have some variety.  Today Lemon Chiffon bloomed...this one has been a bit finicky for me but I like the flower a lot and the pads are pretty too.  The bloom is smaller than usual but I had divided it this year.  Perry's Baby Red is a favorite of mine and tends to bloom fairly frequently.  I fertilized all lilies today to hopefully keep them blooming!

redberry

8

Pond Chat / Lotus Buds

« on: July 04, 2015, 07:59:55 PM »

Last year I received a couple of "Frankly Scarlet" lotus tubers from matherfish.  I was able to over-winter the tuber outside and it got an earlier start this year.  I noticed the first bud a few days ago and now there are two buds.  The photo is of the second bud.  The first one is about twice that height already!  I am hoping that I'll get more than one flush of blooms this year.

redberry

9

Pond Chat / Tropical in PNW

« on: July 04, 2015, 07:56:00 PM »

The warm weather continues here in the PNW but the tropical lilies seem to like it.  Today the first Miami Rose flower bloomed and I see another bud in the pot.  Yesterday the supposed "Larp Prasert Knock-off" bloomed in the same tank.  Miami rose seems to have a stronger scent than "Larp".  I have also had Rhonda Kay plants putting up blooms in different tanks.  I decided to move a smaller 40 gal tank into the sunniest location and I will see if I can get some tropical blooms in that tank as well.

redberry

10

Pond Chat / Blooms Finally!

« on: June 26, 2015, 06:46:40 PM »

The weather has been warm here in the PNW and the lilies are responding.  I am surprised at how quickly some of the buds appeared after I had to divide/repot them.  I still need to move some pots around from the "nursery tank" but I haven't quite figured out where I want what.

Here are some shots of the hardy lily blooms: Comanche was the first to bloom and it has already bloomed three times.  I grow it in a somewhat unconventional pot....a clay rose pot.  Marliac Alba (white) tends to bloom early as well (no photo).  Little Sue already has another bud on the way.  Today I was surprised to see a Rhonda Kay bloom and there are buds on other plants.  The lotus is doing well though no buds yet.

11

Pond Chat / "ponds" waking up

« on: April 25, 2015, 07:11:27 PM »

It has been quiet on the chat...my "ponds" (stocktanks) are starting to wake up.  We had some very warm weather last week so I took the opportunity to divide some pond plants that were jumping their pots (or threatening to do so), divide the hardy water lilies which were starting to wake up, and I put some of the tropical lilies into their "baby pots."  I had moved my lotus purchased from "matherfish" last year from the unheated greenhouse a while ago b/c I needed the space to work.  Today I saw a leaf starting to break the surface of the water. :-)  I debated whether or not I should divide it this year but I decided to wait another year.  There is still more to do to finish getting the ponds ready, but it is a start!

Anyone else have ponds waking up?

redberry

12

Pond Chat / Lotus: post-bloom #1; #2 on the way

« on: September 05, 2014, 07:14:02 PM »

The first lotus bloom has dropped its petals and the pod is now visible.  The second bud is getting fatter.  Still have warm days in the forecast so I hope more blooms will follow.  The fourth bud is now above the leaves.

redberry

13

Pond Chat / Frankly Scarlet bloom

« on: August 28, 2014, 07:28:24 PM »

Yesterday the bud started to open and today I saw the full bloom.   It has a very faint scent which is hard to describe.  Now I will have to wait and see how many of the other buds bloom as summer is ending.  Temperatures are starting to cool down and some rain is in the forecast.  Anyway, matherfish deserves some credit for sending such nice healthy lotus starts!

redberry

14

Pond Chat / The Late Bloomers....

« on: August 22, 2014, 07:24:56 PM »

The first photo shows Lemon Chiffon (hardy), which has pretty pads, but it is not a prolific bloomer.  It may need a slightly warmer location.  The second photo is Pamela (tropical) which was slow to grow out this year but once it started blooming, it has consistently produced blooms.  I like the lighter blue color.

redberry

15

Pond Chat / Lotus update

« on: August 22, 2014, 07:13:36 PM »

The first bud on Frankly Scarlet is growing in size and getting more color.  The second bud is growing upwards and I had a hard time finding it today b/c it was tucked behind some leaves.  (I was beginning to think I had imagined the second bud!)  But wait....there is another bud in the wings!  This coming week the forecast is for the temperatures to be the 80's which is good.  Photos are the first bud and the third bud. 

redberry

16

Pond Chat / Surprise: Lotus Bud!

« on: August 10, 2014, 07:20:25 PM »

This year, I decided to try growing a lotus.  In April, I ordered a Frankly Scarlet lotus from matherfish.  He sent two very nice tubers.  I potted it up and lately it has been growing very well.  However, I was still very surprised to see a small bud today! I had not expected it to bloom this year since I had read that they often takes two years before they bloom.   Summer is slowly ending here but I hope it stays warm enough so that the bud matures enough to bloom this year.

redberry

17

Pond Chat / Pretty Tropical Pairs

« on: July 31, 2014, 06:42:06 PM »

The weather has been helpful to the tropicals though it won't be long before the temperatures start to dip.  The first photo shows a pair of Pamelas.  Pamela was a little slow to start this year but started out as a twosome.  The second photo show the supposed "Larp Prasert knock-off" with Blue Star.  The colors are a little "off" in the photo but I thought it was a nice effect.  Blue Star has been a very steady bloomer this year with new blooms replacing the dying blooms.

18

Pond Chat / mini-tropical flowers

« on: July 20, 2014, 07:10:11 PM »

More buds from my supposed "Larp Prasert knock-off" bloomed and for some reason, they are very tiny.  I was also pleased to see two more buds.  I'm wondering if the buds are smaller b/c the pot is close to the surface of the water and they don't have as much time to develop into a full size before hitting the surface???

redberry

19

Pond Chat / Kat's "Unknown": very pretty!

« on: July 15, 2014, 06:55:20 PM »

Last year, Kat sent an "Unknown" tropical lily tuber among my purchases.  It did not bloom last year so I had no idea what it might be.  This year, it grew rapidly and it has been slowly opening up these past few days though I have not seen it open up completely yet.  I was pleased to see that it is a deep pink and it has a fairly strong scent.    There are a couple more buds too which is nice.  The lily pads are green.  I looked at Kat's current tropical listing and I wonder if it is the "Larp Prasert knockoff".  In any case, it is a very pretty lily and I'm glad to have it in my collection!

redberry

20

Pond Chat / A year later: Miami Rose

« on: July 08, 2014, 06:55:28 PM »

Last year, I ordered Miami Rose from Kat.  I wanted to see if I could get a tropical to bloom other than the blues which seem to like cooler climates.  Last year, the growth was a little slow so I didn't get any blooms.  This year, though, once Miami Rose started growing, it grew quickly.  Around July 1st, I was happy to see a bud but I was about to go out of town.  So I lowered the pot in the tank into cooler water to slow down the bud.  (However, as insurance, I instructed my plant caretaker to take a photo if there was a bloom!)  Yesterday I returned and saw the bud was above water.  Today the bud opened.     The flower is small but it is so nice to see a pink/red tropical.  I don't see any other buds yet but we have more warm weather in the forecast. 

redberry

21

Pond Chat / Hail Damage

« on: June 16, 2014, 07:03:01 PM »

After a nice early start for my lilies, they suffered a bit of a set-back today.  We had pea-sized hail come down.  I was surprised at the damage on the lily leaves...they look like someone took scissors to them.  We have some nice weather in the forecast again so I hope that helps them recover.

22

Pond Chat / it started with "Marliac" Alba

« on: June 12, 2014, 06:55:15 PM »

My first water lily was "Marliac" Alba in the first tank and then I had to get a larger tank so I could have more lilies...

23

Pond Chat / more blooms in PNW

« on: June 09, 2014, 08:15:33 PM »

Okay - will try again....over the past few days I have had more blooms from my hardy lilies.  The first bloom from Little Sue and the second blooms from Perry's Baby Red and Comanche.  I have even seen buds on the tropical lily Rhonda Kay which I potted up a few weeks ago.  Weather is forecasted to be cooler and wetter so that may slow the blooming down a bit.  (only attaching picture of Little Sue since attempts to attach more photos have failed.)

redberry

24

Pond Chat / previous "real message" did not work

« on: June 09, 2014, 08:12:22 PM »

Testing to see if this message will work.

redberry

25

Pond Chat / Test message with photo

« on: June 09, 2014, 08:02:03 PM »

Okay - it looks like my previous message went through and now I am testing if I can post a photo too.

26

Pond Chat / Test message

« on: June 09, 2014, 08:00:43 PM »

Hi:

I have had trouble posting messages so I am seeing if this one works.

redberry

27

Pond Chat / First Bloom in OR

« on: May 31, 2014, 07:44:47 PM »

May has been a little warmer than usual and I already have my first hardy lily bloom, Comanche.  Another bud is just under the surface and I see a bud for Little Sue as well.  I also have tropical lilies which are growing fairly well.  I have already transferred several Rhonda Kay lilies from the warmth of the greenhouse into an outdoor tank.  Blue Star and Miami Rose are growing well in their little starter pots so I am hoping I can pot them up soon.  Pamela seems to be struggling this year.

redberry

28

Pond Chat / Bloom at the end of summer

« on: September 14, 2013, 07:37:07 PM »

In my neck of the woods in the NW, today was probably the last day near 80F.  We had had a relatively warm summer for us and I had expected a bit more action from my hardy lilies.  Some I had divided and a couple I should have divided in the spring so maybe that slowed them down.   Just when I had thought I'd never see a Lemon Chiffon bloom, one appeared.  My tropical lilies (Rhonda Kay, Blue Star, and Pamela) managed to keep putting out a constant stream of blooms, however.   Just thought I'd share some photos: Perry's Baby Red, Little Sue with Blue Star tropical, Rhonda Kay opening up, and finally Lemon Chiffon.

29

Pond Chat / 3 buds/1 stem Rhonda Kay

« on: August 02, 2013, 08:18:00 PM »

As I viewed the photos people have posted of lovely ponds with many flowers in bloom, I was thinking I was hoping to see more lily flowers in my own tank ponds when I discovered this strange site: 3 buds on one Rhonda Kay stem.  It is hard to get a picture of all three buds at the same time!  The largest bud opened up today.  Has anyone else encountered this in their tropical lily experience?

30

Pond Chat / Different pond flower photos

« on: July 17, 2013, 07:54:45 PM »

Even though I'm getting some blooms from my hardy and tropical water lilies, they aren't quite as prolific as some other posters despite the warm temperatures we have had lately.  So I thought I'd show some photos from a few other aquatic plants for a change of pace.  The first photo shows a Sundew in bloom. (It is in a pot with a pitcher plant so don't be confused by the different foliage.)  The second photo shows a flower from the Venus flytrap.  The third photo shows the Thalia dealbata is in bloom for the second year in a row.  This plant is in an area that gets some shade so it is nice to get flowers.   And for good measure, I'll throw in the picture of the tropical lily Blue Star since I thought it was a nice picture.