water plant pots

[Cypress Point Pond]

I've decided to put my water plants in pots.  I will be using various sized containers, say from quart to 3 gallons.  Please tell me what you folks use for underwater pots?

Thanks,
louisp

[Esther]

Nothing. I stick my marginals under the rocks on the ledge and they take off. This spring we have to move all the rocks and tear out what is there and replant.

[Cypress Point Pond]

Nothing. I stick my marginals under the rocks on the ledge and they take off. This spring we have to move all the rocks and tear out what is there and replant.

Thanks for the suggestion but free planting deep water plant requires media and I don't want to put that loose in the pond.

lp

[miguynmkoi]

Most of my water plants (not including the lilies) sit in a plastic pot without holes in the bottom.  To weigh the plant down I will use either large rocks/ pebbles or big rocks I found around the garden.  They grow well and I don't have to mess with them, except to divide.

[marla]

In our main pond mine are like Esther's, just in the rocks.  In the new lilypond I do not have rocks on the bottom, and only some of the shelfs have rocks.  I planted in pots, with and without holes,  I think I prefer the no holes as the roots on those that are fast growing stay contained better.  I recently purchased a bunch of black dishpans from Wal-mart and come spring will repot my lilies in these at present they are in small buckets/and 8"-10" hanging type pots, but again I'm not fond of the holes.

[enzo]

Hi, I used to use containers but now I use pots with holes at the bottom.

I would say try using the regular nursery pots. The free ones that you get from your local garden center when you buy a shrub. Just be sure to temporarily block the holes with newspaper. You'll find after a while, the roots of the plants would of found there way through the holes at the bottom of the pot and now act as living filters. Also these plants will grow better--try it and see for yourself.

[Julles]

I use black plastic pots - no holes.  Just yucky yard dirt (we have a lot of "gumbo" here in Houston), sand on top, and 5/8" gravel on top of that. 

I am experimenting with cheapie plants from PetSmart, and some of my recent ones are in the teeny plastic container it was sold in - about 4" long x 2.5" wide x 5" or so deep.  Little rain lily is doing fine for now.

[Jerry]

I use plastic as well.  The mesh pots are a waste of money.  I know, I bought a bunch.
Johns tipped me off to the tubs that are used for oil changes.  Excellent for louts.  The roots go round n round.
They are cheap too.

[CoolShades]

Boy this has been a contentious topic before.  Not much in this thread though.  There are pros and cons to each pot choice.

Closed container can be purchased at nurseries or as Jerry suggests the Wallmart auto section.  For lilies make sure to get at least 12" diameter to give some of the lilies the ability to run and form colonies.  The advantage of the closed pots are it keeps the pond cleaner, i.e. no dirt  that leaks out of the pot.  Unfortunately water flow is restricted and if the pot is deep then an anareobic condition can occur at the bottom of the pot (you will probably hear several people sticking fingers/spikes to the bottom to get channels).  The wider the pot the less concern, since the surface area is increased relative to pot depth.

Open containers eliminate the anaerobic conditions mentioned above.  The cons are you will leak potting media and the roots will run quickly all over the place.  Another con is the basket pots seem to break apart easier.  Lorenzo's suggestion of using standard nursery pots is valid, but I consider them more like the closed pots especially if you use weed cloth at the bottom.

My personal preference is closed large diameter pots (24").  Also if you use a gravel topping you form a good surface for beneficial microbes, good luck.

Gary

[Desertponder]

I use one particular type of oil drain pan for all of my plants, both lilies and marginals.
They look like this. Ace Hardware and Safeway are the only places I've found them here. I like them because they are
pretty sturdy and with the rim on them they are easy to lift and lower. There is also a hang hole in the rim that
you can twist tie a label to.

[Cypress Point Pond]

I use black plastic pots - no holes.  Just yucky yard dirt (we have a lot of "gumbo" here in Houston), sand on top, and 5/8" gravel on top of that. 

I am experimenting with cheapie plants from PetSmart, and some of my recent ones are in the teeny plastic container it was sold in - about 4" long x 2.5" wide x 5" or so deep.  Little rain lily is doing fine for now.

I planted water lilies from PS two years ago. Tiny, tiny little things that were never impressive.  Thanks for the reply.