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Pond Chat / Re: The experiment begins!
« on: January 22, 2007, 01:13:36 PM »
Andrew...Umm, I am at a bit of a loss
Not sure if it was the intent but your post seems a bit intense. I have visited your site and have seen your plants, so I know that you know what your talking about where the lilies are concerned. Again I have no qualms about purchaing from one of the dealers I am comfortable with because I know that A. they will back up their product, B. I always get a quality product. Lots of newbies who just want to get started may not have the money to start out with many higher dollar lilies. The info you have provided is valuable and I appreciate it, the delivery however sounds as though you are Upset. 
I have all my lilies containerized and I was just discussing with Tim on how to make them more robust. How to divide them and do so properly. The ones I currently have in the tank under the grow lights will likely not be in there for more than a few months and when I strip them out of the fiber and mesh I will photograph the root and the tuber and post the results. If they have been hacked up then Caveat emptor,and that will be great information to post as well. Our "guests" who use this site for Pond information and how to's may find that they do not like the results and will stop purchasing them from the "Big Box" stores.
As I live in Tallahassee Florida, which is more like southern Georgia than Florida, we get a wide range of weather. from lows down in the 20's to highs in the upper 90's but I don't think I have ever seen a day when the pond got into the 90's. I have have 4 sreas in my pond All day sun, morning sun only afternoon sun only and shade all day I need a plant for all of those occasions, Sounds as though the James Brydon may well fit in the shady or morning sun areas.
Another good point that you made is that the Plant containers are poorly labeled when it comes to Heat tolerance, cold tolerance, depthe of planting. It is very basic and someone could be easily misled. Basicall it says put in a fertilizer stick/pellet and toss it in. Not the best idea of the colorados grow the way you say they do. Again something new to be learned and good info arising from just this beginning discussion
I am admittedly new at this, only been at it for a little over a year trying different things and alway asking questions. I Love being in near and around my pond and anything I can do to enhance the way it looks I am all for, which means I am willing to experiment to learn what to do and what not to do and to share those findings with others. Good Bad or indifferent I intend to see what happens. I agree that they tell you little and prey on your ignorance, But that is what we are here for right? to help turn out a better ponder? Knowledge is power and the more educated we are as a group the harder it will be to pass off a bad product. If all that you say is true then that particular business won't be in business for long with a moderately educated consumer.Tim I will absolutely give your method a try on all my lilies not just these. I am looking forward to the results. I started looking at tropicals last night in my Water garden book which has numerous versions in it. I am going to want to tap your knowledge base on a few once I whittle the list down
I checked on the lilies thsi morning and one Colorado is already stretching it's leaves out quite nicely. That would be # 3. #1 is the one pictured here and is only slightly behind #3. The other 2 appear to be waking up and opening their leaves and are not growing as quickly as the Colorados but trying none the less. I will post some pics when I get home tonight. Thanks for all of your input so far
Andy
Begin by removing the soil from the water lily using a water hose to expose the rhizomes. Select the best looking piece with good growth showing and cut to about three inches long, discard the remainder of the plant. 
Trim away excess roots and any damaged foliage from the selected piece.If the water lily is to remain unpotted for any length of time, keep it in the shade with damp paper towels or newspaper covering the plant. 
Prepare the container by filling about three fourths full of aquatic planting soil (clay loam is ideal) and add ten grams of a good fertilizer such as 10-20-10 for every gallon of soil. 
Mound some soil against one side of the container and place the rhizome at a 45 degree angle with the cut edge against the pot and the growing point at the level the top of the soil will be. Add more soil to within a couple of inches of the top of the container. Firm the soil in place and add about one inch of pea gravel to cover the soil keeping it from covering the growing point of the plant. Gently add some water to the container and then slowly lower the plant into the pond. 
Okay so with all of the talk the Wal Mart/water garden thread generated I figured I would try an experiment. My Water lily purchases last year were 25 each. all of which seem to be doing well. they were from reputable nurseries that I would recommend in a minute to purchase from. 
and that is when I went into high gear to bring it to where it is today. Subsequent rains that were just as hard or harder and just as heavy have done little now that I got the ditches redug and silt fences in place hay bales and all. I just never want to go through that again. So the pond is fine but she is still recovering (water clarity mostly) This is also one of the reasons I want to put in a falls. I can bring in dirt and redirect any runoff away from my pond. Trying to decide on what would look good.....
Thanks for the kind words, Andy
that mess headed straight for my pond:
I also lost 52 of my fish, 
NOT happy 
Unfortunately the Lowes and the Home depots here in Tallahassee have all stopped carrying Water plants. The local nurseries carry a very limited water garden and are hesitant to order more. What they have tends to be very pricey. I have ordered off of the Internet only to be sorely dissappointed when the plants come in. I only really trust 3 out of the 10 I have dealt with and of those I use Lily Blooms 