Help planting water plants

[small fish]

I am in the first full summer with the new larger pond.  I have bought a number of new plants  suprise, suprise.  I would like to plant as many things in the rocks as I can.  Do any of you have experience with these plants in the rocks and not in pots.
 water hibiscus      marsh betony      water willow    strawberries and cream ribbon grass  blue sedge        Rush grass     and I know you have the experience   

Myra

[Wetbug]

Myra, I have all my plants (with the exception of the lilies) planted in the rocks: sedges, rushes, mini cattails, plantain, water celery, water penny, pickerel weed, Siberain Pink cups, water clover and others all in the rocks... and I don't bring them in during winter either. They either make it, or they don't. I'm in zone 8 and it doesn't freeze much here, but I do get ice on the pond 1-2 times a winter.

I started with plants in pots, but the ratty coons love to knock them over spreading dirt and gravel everywhere. Then I used nylon stockings filled with cat litter. The contained cat litter was easy for them to dig out - the coons then bit thru the nylon and spread cat litter all over. It was desperation that drove me to planting in the rocks and for the most part, they don't mess with 'em.

I have strawberries and cream planted outside the pond in the margin - it spreads pretty fast and is tough to remove once it gets a foothold. It likes moisture and I have fears for what it might do in the pond.

Try it and see... I bet most, if not all will survive.

[andrew davis]

Don't do it. Containerise them so you don't end up with a mess of tough roots which are next to impossible to lift in future years and would be too risky to cut apart in a lined pond. Plants like those will get grass weeds sprouting up among them, if you cannot lift them out of the pond you may have quite a pain to weed them in a couple of years time

water hibiscus- requires special wintering, if moisture gets within the stem it is likely to rot off. To winterise, take pot out of pond, lie on its side, and put a cover over it to stop rain getting into the stem     

marsh betony- Never tried it in a pond, it grows wild willy nilly, don't know

water willow- not exactly sure if this is willow? willow trees (Salix species) drop toxic remnants in a pond that over time can poison a closed pond. You might want to double check the identity of that one and if it is a salix, look up its toxicity features

strawberries and cream ribbon grass- makes fine tough root mass, containerise

blue sedge- makes fine tough root mass, -containerise

Rush grass- makes fine tough root mass, -containerise

Regards, andy
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[CT]

Even if you contain them in a pot some things will overgrow the pot and get huge rootballs. I almost killed myself trying to remove a 75 pound cattail/yellow iris mess out of the pond. They sure didn't look that big from the foliage. I can't imagine if they were planted in moist ground what they would do.

[tranquility]

Yes difently put them in a container...but, most will do fine in gravel instead of dirt....basically just need to keep them up right and supply them with nutrients as needed...on the hibiscus I do leave mine in standing water all year long but only a few inches of water but, have found they get larger and bloom better in soil and can be planted in the pond or outside of it.If you plant it outside they pond they get huge....

Andy,
 I can't believe you have never heard of water willow( Justicia Americana)....I didn't know there was a plant that you didn't know alot about.....it may have a different name you are more familar with ....his a pic of mine. It is a really kewl plant...not real showy but, from what I have read about it. It is great to plant along the banks of earth ponds for erosion control and your lures won't get snagged up in the plants.so it is good for fishing ponds.sorry I take  bad pics...
Lawanna

[Teresa]

Most of the water hibiscus sold for ponds are hardy.  I have never bothered to take mine out of the pond, and in fact couldn't lift one of them if my life depended on it.  I have one with a crown a good foot underwater and  another with the crown above water . . . . both (and a couple of others) have overwintered in the pond (zone 7) just fine for years.  I don't cut the branches off after they die back because I like to look at them - in the spring, DH goes and chops them off when he does the butterfly bushes and crape myrtles.  I've never looked to see if he cuts them off above or below water level, but it's never hurt the plants.

It won't hurt the hibiscus to be in a pot with just gravel, but their root system will get as big as it can and will spread as far as it can.  If you don't have them in containers, the roots could easily take over the pond.

I don't know what kind of rush you have, but some will do better than others grown in rocks.  In my experience some are fussier and will do better in dirt with their crowns at the surface or above.  Marsh bettony and water willow both did better for me with their crowns above water level.

[andrew davis]

Hi Lawanna,
Thank for the tip on water willow, I'll have to look it up. 'Fraid my knowledge of aquatic plants is limited to 300 or so that I am familiar with not counting hardies and trop waterlilies, I tend to notice the ones that have a mix of beneficial features and good growing habits, that excludes quite a few brutes

There are bazillions out there. Got some amazing dinky little natives out here, can I find a name for them? no chance

p.s. the hibiscus tip came from a licensed hibiscus grower and expert gardener, after I noticed hybrid hibiscus tended to fail over Winter.

Regards, andy
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[tranquility]

Andy...LOL there are quite a few out there that are just out and out weedy.....in fact the majority of the ones I have dealt with can be quite aggressive.....
Lawanna

[small fish]

  Wow, what great information on planting.... I will have to go look up what type of rush that is... thanks all
Myra