The water lily is the undisputed star of the water garden. Find out how you can plant water lilies in your garden pond yourself. These can be planted in a bucket on the patio or in any size pond. They grow from tubers planted under the water, which sprout stems with rounded leaves and star-shaped flowers that float on the surface of the water.
Such aquatic plants are reliable and easy to grow - a good choice for the beginner. They bloom in the morning and close their flowers after sunset. Go through three or four days before sinking below the surface. The flowers appear from spring to autumn, blooming in all colors except blue and purple. Tropical species that bloom in exotic colors require a little more care, but the effort is worth it. The night-blooming varieties have vibrant, almost electric colors. They need a water temperature above 21 degrees C and tubers must be from thePond in winterbe removed.
1. Use a container that is wide and shallow. A good size is 30 x 45 cm wide and 15 x 25 cm deep. The tuber, which is similar to the rhizome of the iris, grows horizontally. If there are drainage holes, place burlap in them to keep the soil in the container. The soil that leaches could cloud the water in your pond.
2. Use heavy soil for garden use, not fluffy potting soil that would float out of the container. Avoid soil mixtures with perlite, vermiculite, peat for the same reason. Enrich the soil with fertilizer, especially for aquatic plants.
3. Remove old leaves and thick, fleshy old roots. Leave the leaves and buds just emerging and the new, thin roots.
4. Plant the tuber against the side of the pot, with the growing tip upward - above 45 degrees - and toward the center of the pot.
5. Cover the bottom with a layer of rocks or gravel to keep the soil in the pot.
6. The planted pot should be lowered into the pond at an angle to allow air to escape. The leaves will float to the surface. If the pond is deeper than 45cm then you will need something that can support the pot.
Get your plants ready for winter by removing all dead and dying leaves. If the pond freezes in your climate, then remove the water lily, container and all. Store the entire container by keeping it cool and moist in a plastic bag. If you cannot save the entire pot, remove and clean the growing tuber and store it in peat moss at 5 to 10 degrees C.
If the pond does not freeze solid, do not remove the pot, but simply lower it to the deepest part of the pond where the water will not freeze. In spring, bring the pot back to the correct level in the garden pond.
Keep your pond clean and beautiful like this one. Do not over-fertilize the plants. They will also feed the algae, which in turn makes the pond water green. Don't overfeed the fish or have too many fish for the size of the pond. Remove decaying vegetation. Make sure that 60 percent of the pond is shaded by this. Keep water oxygenated, with fountains or waterfalls. Don't kill the algae with chemical treatments, which will also hurt the plants, fish and beneficial bacteria that live in the pond.
