Messages

1

Pond Chat / Re: Some tropical lilies blooming today 7-6-16

« on: July 23, 2016, 08:01:48 PM »

Very pretty.  I think I'll be lucky to get many tropical lilies to bloom this year.  The weather started out warm and I got my tubers all potted up to grow but then the weather cooled down.  Everything slowed down and now all I can see  is one bud on a Blue Star.  I also don't know if a heavy layer of Azolla on two of my tanks inhibited their growth at all.   I have removed as much Azolla as I could so the tropical lilies could get more sun.  I guess my goal will be to keep the plants going well enough so I can store them in the Fall and try again next year.

redberry

2

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

3

Pond Chat / Re: Where did everybody go?

« on: June 22, 2016, 08:20:52 PM »

I am definitely feeling behind in the pond chores this year.  The hardy lilies have produced a number of blooms already but my tropical lilies are way behind where they were last year.  These past couple of days I transferred some from their smaller starter pots into the larger 1 gal pots.  (I store the tubers overwinter in baggies in the house and have to pot them up in the spring.)  Normally, I start them in small pots in buckets so I can bring them inside at night to keep them "warmer."  However, this year because we had some fairly warm temperatures earlier than usual this year, I started to leave them outside in the evenings sooner than usual and I wonder if that was just too cool for them.  I don't know if they'll catch up in their growth or not....  Last year was a really good year for the tropicals.  I finally got a "proper" lotus tub for my Frankly Scarlet lotus and it seems quite happy in there so I hope it blooms well this year.

Some of my hardy blooms: Comanche and Little Sue

redberry

4

Pond Chat / Re: Pond Views

« on: June 22, 2016, 08:09:37 PM »

Very lovely...landscaping and the lilies! 

redberry

5

Pond Chat / Re: Side kicks

« on: June 22, 2016, 08:05:15 PM »

I thought I'd pick up on this thread since I found for the first time one of my variegated cattail plants has a flower stalk on it!  The plant is very tight in its pot, I'm sure, since I had not gotten around to dividing it.  It has tipped over so it isn't vertical anymore.  As I was adding water to my tank, I saw this dragonfly resting on it so I had to get my camera to get a photo. 

redberry

6

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

7

Pond Chat / Re: Side kicks

« on: April 09, 2016, 07:33:30 PM »

Hi

 Matherfish:
How many lotus tubers?  That's actually a hard question to answer... the tubers were coiled around in several layers.  There were a fair number of young leaves.  I could see distinct junctions with some segments longer than other segments.  I had thought the tubers would be fatter than the connecting segments, but they all looked fairly similar in shape/size.  I selected some which had obvious growth.  I kept the remaining sections in some water for now as a back up.

dperry:
That is quite the pond project! 

redberry

8

Pond Chat / Re: Side kicks

« on: April 07, 2016, 08:21:19 PM »

Matherfish:

I'm not sure how warm your greenhouse is during the winter but they tolerate below freezing temperatures/snow.  I think they need a period of dormancy so they shouldn't be pampered too much.  However, I have put them in  an unheated greenhouse or moved them from the larger tanks to smaller containers to keep them from getting blown over when we get windy weather.  I lost one plant due to rot and I managed to salvage my others ones a couple of years ago.

I do need to divide some of the plants but I want to wait until they are done blooming.  I might be interested in a trade...wish I had more space.

Yesterday I divided the Frankly Scarlet lotus I received from you a couple of years ago.  I could see sprouts all ready. :-)

redberry

9

Pond Chat / Re: Side kicks

« on: April 04, 2016, 07:53:20 PM »

Trying to post pics...Dana's Delight with buds.

redberry

10

Pond Chat / Re: Side kicks

« on: April 04, 2016, 07:44:31 PM »

Hi:

I'm going to try again to post a reply.  Good topic - some of my favorite side kicks are carnivorous plants.  I have several pitcher plants (Dana's Delight, Rubra, Judith Hindle) and a sundew.  I had a Venus flytrap but I don't see signs of it this year.  This year it looks like I will get flowers from all of the pitcher plants.

I'm going to see if this post works and then post pictures in a separate reply.

redberry

11

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

12

Pond Chat / Re: Late season photos

« on: October 12, 2015, 06:46:10 PM »

Here is an update:  A small Perry's Baby Red bloom was visible today and a very small bloom of Comanche.

redberry

13

Pond Chat / Re: Trip to TMike's

« on: October 12, 2015, 06:43:48 PM »

I can't imagine keeping track of all of the varieties!  I especially like the photo of the lavendar bloom.

redberry

14

Pond Chat / Re: Late season photos

« on: October 09, 2015, 07:49:25 PM »

Well, I can't figure out why it won't accept the photo of Dana's Delight pitcher plant.  Photo is under 200KB...maybe I'll try later.

redberry

15

Pond Chat / Re: Late season photos

« on: October 09, 2015, 07:40:06 PM »

I can't get the Dana's Delight photos to post...testing to see if I can get this message to post.

16

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

17

Pond Chat / Re: And the bees go on...

« on: October 09, 2015, 07:19:40 PM »

I'm catching up....it looks like you had a nice selection still blooming.  The pink ones are particularily nice.

redberry

18

Pond Chat / Re: Today's lily pics, and a friend 8-29-15

« on: September 02, 2015, 07:08:59 PM »

Looks like you are still getting a number of blooms.  Pad production and flowering has really slowed down here in the PNW especially the tropicals.  The hardies are still giving blooms though.  Here are a couple of photos: 1) Lemon Chiffon and Comanche (Hardies); 2) Pamela (started as a small tuber but managed to give 2 flowers).

redberry

19

Pond Chat / Re: Today's tropical lily pics 8-11-15

« on: August 12, 2015, 06:39:07 PM »

Tina and Afterglow are particularly nice. 

redberry

20

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

21

Pond Chat / Re: Lotus Buds

« on: July 17, 2015, 07:16:12 PM »

The lotus was in bloom yesterday and the second bud is getting taller.  I have yet to spot any more buds, though.

I am surprised that you have had trouble in Arizona with all the sun/warmth there.

redberry

22

Pond Chat / Re: Today's tropical lily pics 7-9-15

« on: July 10, 2015, 07:00:42 PM »

Tropic Punch looks like an interesting one.

redberry

23

Pond Chat / Re: More Hardy blooms

« on: July 10, 2015, 06:57:25 PM »

I, too, have wondered if Lemon Chiffon needs slightly warmer temperatures than we normally get here early in the season.   I also wonder if the rhizome needs to be more developed/larger before it blooms a lot.  Perry's Baby Red definitely seems to tolerate cooler temperatures a bit better.

24

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

25

Pond Chat / Re: A lotus Tri-fecta!

« on: July 08, 2015, 07:23:57 PM »

Still working on the bud stage here....  Do you find that your lotus often have a succession of blooms or is there often a gap between them?

redberry

26

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

27

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

28

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

29

Pond Chat / Re: Blooms Finally!

« on: June 27, 2015, 06:15:48 PM »

Whoops - I had two photos of Comanche when I meant to add a photo of Little Sue.  Found another Rhonda Kay in bloom today.  Not only are the days warm but the nights have been unusually warm as well.

redberry

30

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.