Messages

811

Photo Album / Re: Lily Floral Boquets

« on: June 15, 2007, 07:35:36 AM »

Sunlight plus nutrients in the water can equal algae... string or otherwise.
If you can get enough plants in there to suck up the nutrients you will probably not have an algae problem.
I have anacharis in all of my pools.
You can use chemicals for algae control. I just try not to. I have used them but only in dire straits.
There are some that are safe for fish and some that are not. All of my pools have fish to keep the mosquitos at bay.
Plus if I were to use the chemicals it would get pretty expensive pretty fast for me.

I find that if I can quickly get a good balance of plants to water surface it will take care of the problem itself.
As to the Florafin, I have never used that as well. I looked on the net and it says it will not promote algae but I do not know how much you would need to really make your plants lush.
Perhaps someone else on the forum has had some experience with it.

I use pond tabs, granular flowering plant food and occassionally Osmocote for my plants for the most part.

Tim

812

Photo Album / Re: Lily Floral Boquets

« on: June 14, 2007, 10:09:32 PM »

My wife has been reading this and I missed a few posts from above. Sorry.

Amanda, nice set up. Until the pads fill it out you might want to throw some oxygenator plants in there to keep the algae at bay a bit. Just a thought.
If you fed them heavy and have warm weather it might only be a few weeks to a month. Good Luck.

Dan in LA. Sorry I missed your reply as well. No, I do not have Vanilla Sky. That is Caliente, also by Craig. It is described as a yellow lily.
For some reason it is always white for me. As the lily ages or if there are cooler nights it gets a pink tinge on the tips for me.
I was afraid it was not what I thought so I asked Craig and sent a few pix last fall. He was not sure why it looked white here vs. yellow there but said based on the pads and the fact that I thought it looked like ampla he said it was the correct plant. Evidently one of the parents was ampla.

SHeilJ glad I solved the mystery for you...even though I did not realize I had created one. .

813

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Evergreen Wisteria

« on: June 14, 2007, 09:33:15 PM »

Thanks Monica.
Hope yours grows fast like mine did.

Tim

814

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Resizing my blooms

« on: June 14, 2007, 05:20:18 PM »

2.5 times as big and half as small to download.... You go girl.

Tim

815

Photo Album / Re: Lily Floral Boquets

« on: June 14, 2007, 03:24:52 PM »

The weedeater only does a number after prolonged abuse.
I have a gas powered one that is really powerful think of an industrial model.
Over time it weakens the plastic on the pool and sooner or later I have punched a hole or caused a crack.
Now I weedeat a few times a year but late spring and early summer I Roundup around them so it is not such a hassle.

Tim

816

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Shapes and colours

« on: June 14, 2007, 03:20:42 PM »

Great colors.

Tim

817

Photo Album / Re: Lily Floral Boquets

« on: June 14, 2007, 01:51:42 PM »

Man I wish I had seen them. I am paying 12 buck a piece and I usually buy 2 at a time to double the thickness so my weedeater doesn't cause holes and leaks.
It has in the past.

Tim

818

Pond Chat / Re: Gotta love those garage sales!!

« on: June 14, 2007, 01:16:41 PM »

Oooooohhhhh...

I see a 6*6*2 pond in your future......

I also see new lilies growing there.....

By the way you also have a verrrrryyyy looonnnggggg lifeline since I was being nosy.    

Tim

819

Pond Chat / Re: Birthday blooms!

« on: June 14, 2007, 01:11:35 PM »

A very "Happy Birthday" to both of you.

Great pix as well DoubleS

Tim

820

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: This Budd's for you.......

« on: June 14, 2007, 11:51:04 AM »

Mike,
you sure you haven't been in my yard???????

Just kidding.

Glad you found the magic pot.... now what are you going to put in there next for more magical wonders???

Tim

821

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Resizing my blooms

« on: June 14, 2007, 11:48:40 AM »

miguynmkoi,
Nice shots.
What software are you using to resize? I noticed your pics are bitmaps.
You could easily double the size of your photos and probably lower by half the file size if you convert them to jpg's.

Tim

822

Photo Album / Re: Come on...come on already...YES!! Finally

« on: June 14, 2007, 11:40:46 AM »

Mine are in containers. I built a greenhouse late last fall and put the containers in there.
My weather is really close to what you get.
After mine died back and went dormant I filled the buckets up with water.
They are deep and hold a lot of water.
So even on nights when it froze here they were protected from wind and the volume of water in each container did not allow it to drop in temp too much.
This is the first winter I have had them so I was not sure what to do but after reading everything I could that became my plan.
All 3 came back for me.
It's funny, the one that is blooming was the last to come back and has the fewest leaves almost by 2/3s compared to the other two that have yet to bloom. It does have the largest leaves though.

The President has now officially bloomed for me.
Last year Lavendar Lady bloomed but I missed the debut. It has a color that is almost the same but is much lighter and not as strong a color.
Hopefully I will get to see Perry's Giant Sunburst as well...keeping my fingers crossed.

Tim

823

Photo Album / Re: Come on...come on already...YES!! Finally

« on: June 13, 2007, 09:46:04 PM »

Here are a few more shots from today.

Tim

824

Photo Album / Re: Lily Floral Boquets

« on: June 13, 2007, 07:35:25 PM »

You know it's crazy... It's just now June, it is 96 degrees here during the day and everyone stops ordering kiddie pools so they won't be stuck with them during the fall.
Heck we still wear shorts and Bar-B-Q in December here.

It went to 2 stores yesterday just to find 2 pools so I could put my victorias into something bigger.

Tim

825

Photo Album / Re: Green Smoke - Redux

« on: June 13, 2007, 07:30:12 PM »

Thanks SheilaJ.

Tim

826

Photo Album / Re: Come on...come on already...YES!! Finally

« on: June 13, 2007, 07:29:19 PM »

All hail the chief.... it is called N. 'The President'.

Here are today's pix that I promised...

Tim

827

Photo Album / Re: Come on...come on already...

« on: June 13, 2007, 06:48:20 AM »

On the way out the door but will try and post today's pix tonight when I get home.

Tim

828

Photo Album / Re: Come on...come on already...

« on: June 13, 2007, 06:46:55 AM »

Well she opened yesterday.

Here is her debut.

Tim

829

Pond Chat / Re: Seedling with maroon leaves.

« on: June 12, 2007, 10:06:23 AM »

I'm with you. I really liked the almost solid maroon juvenile pads. Oh well it still looks great.

Tim

830

Pond Chat / Re: In the 30s today

« on: June 12, 2007, 10:04:36 AM »

Okay Kat... okay Gary....

Together you almost have as many blooms as I have today..... come on guys you can beat me.... try a little harder.

LOL

Tim

831

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Evergreen Wisteria

« on: June 11, 2007, 08:50:40 PM »

See that Monster that swallowed up my arbor between the cannas, Bananas and the new pond.



That started out 3 years ago as a 2'  1 gallon pot.

Tim

832

Photo Album / Re: Come on...come on already...

« on: June 11, 2007, 08:37:54 PM »

Kim,

I had a bud on my Babydoll Lotus, it was there one day and the next day something had ate it off.

I love butterflies but hate the little caterpillars.

GAjen,
It is a lotus that I am waiting on patiently to bloom.

Tim

833

Photo Album / Re: Lily Floral Boquets

« on: June 11, 2007, 08:33:26 PM »

A rhizome is what they call the root stock of a hardy lily.
Go check the tutorials section.
I have one there on dividing a Colorado. It is a hardy and there are pictures that show it before I chopped it up.

A hardy rhizome can produce plant divisions all over it like the eyes on a potato.

A tropical lily doesn't always do this. Think of it as a plant you buy at a garden center. You can plant it in your yard and watch it grow. But if you don't treat it right it will die and you would be out of luck.
It is a single plant and with the exception of viviparous lilies it usually will not divide into duplicates as easily as the hardies.
It can go dormant and produce what is called a tuber that could grow new plants. But you can also lose it during the tubering process.
Some varieties of tropical produce tubers throughout the year. If they do, you can grow new plants from the tuber. If the tuber is large enough, it could grow a new plant, you remove that plant and float the tuber again and if it still has enough stored energy it could possibly provide more plants.

Tim

834

Photo Album / Re: Green Smoke - Redux

« on: June 11, 2007, 08:17:23 PM »

Thanks so much ladies.
However I don't want to be accused of contributing to the delinquency of a ponder...LOL.

Tim

835

Photo Album / Re: Dragonflies

« on: June 11, 2007, 07:58:25 PM »

Very cool Ky Kim,
I really like the painted one.

Tim

836

Photo Album / Re: Director George T. Moore

« on: June 11, 2007, 07:55:09 PM »

I actually don't label them. Proof of that was in a faux pas I made a few months ago between 2 lilies I bought late last fall. I posted a few pix in a hurry without verifying what I posted.
I was on the way out the door for work and screwed up. Craig and Sean pointed out what I should have already known but was in too much of a hurry to stop and think.

I have about 40+ varieties of lilies. I know what they all look like and try to take care when I do post names so as not to mess up the authenticity of my shots.
I have a large amount that are very distinct so that makes it easier.
I do have a number that are very close when looking at the pads so I sometimes have to wait for the first blooms to verify what it is.
All of the newer ones that I only have 1 of get preferentiial treatment until I reproduce them.

Tim

837

Photo Album / Re: Lily Floral Boquets

« on: June 11, 2007, 05:38:07 PM »

Thanks miguynmkoi, glad you liked them.

thepitclub,
The pots that I use for starting lilies are 1/2 gallon flower containers like you see at garden centers with plants for sale in them.
They have 4 holes about the size of a nickel around the bottom edge of the container and a 5th hole in the center on the bottom.
I take several layers of newspaper to cover the holes.
I then put about 2 inches of heavy soil in the bottom to keep the newspaper in place.
I then mix in the granular fertilizer or sometimes some Osmocote into the dirt and fill the container to 2/3's full if the root system will still fit that way.
I then put in pond tabs and push them down into the soil at that depth.
I put the water lily in and carefully lock it into place with more soil to an even depth to cover all of the roots and keep the crown uncovered.
I then place either sand or rocks on top of the dirt to keep the dirt and fertilizer from leeching out into the water.
Try to keep the crown from being covered.
***If it is a tropical lily, you want it in the very center of the pot straight up and down as tropicals grow straight up like a tree.
***If it is a hardy, you want to place it at a 45 degree angle with the bottom edge nearest a wall.
The rhizome grows at the angle you plant it, continuing to grow up but it can get new growth nodes anywhere along it's rhizome so you could get several new growth points along the growing line.
This is not the gospel but it is the way I do it and it works very well for me.

Tim

838

Photo Album / Re: Viviparous Lilies

« on: June 11, 2007, 06:01:29 AM »

Thanks Jonna and Annette.
Sean has a good tutorial here on the site...
http://www.americanponders.com/forum/index.php?topic=137.0
This includes some pix so you can see what a Vivip pad looks like.

Tim

839

Photo Album / Re: Come on...come on already...

« on: June 11, 2007, 05:58:16 AM »

Thanks miguynmkoi,
I just checked... nothing yet... on the way to work...hope I don't miss it.


Tim

840

Photo Album / Re: Lily Floral Boquets

« on: June 11, 2007, 05:57:11 AM »

When I plant them I super fertilize them.
I always put 3 or 4 pond tabs under the lilies as well as continue to feed throughout the summer with them.
However when I am mixing up the dirt, sand, clay etc I also mix in a granular terrestrial flower fertilizer that is 10-50-10. The middle number indicates the nutrients for flowering.
I just got a Red Indian Goddess a few weeks ago from Kat. I noticed yesterday that it already has 2 buds even though it is still a pretty immature lily.
Planting time is really the only time I can use the granulas, they are the consistency of sugar. Later on I would have to disturb the roots too much or worry about the granules dissolving and leeching into the water.

Tim