Water Gardening: Pond shelves....Why???, 1 by dyzzypyxxy

dyzzypyxxy wrote:
Thanks Dave & Oberon. Yes, the iris are growing in the water. They are great filter plants and just live off the fish waste in the water. I fertilize the water lilies and lotus, but don't to anything to the iris except yank out about half of them in the spring. I'd be glad to send you some if you want them. Just reimburse me the postage. They are iris pseudacorus with yellow flowers in late spring. They are an invasive species in some states, but as long as they are confined in a pot in a contained water garden, they are just a nice plant. My pond water stays very clear and I hardly ever even need to rinse the filter. I'm sure it's because the iris clean the water so well.

All my water lilies are small tropicals as you might imagine since my pond is only 4ft. x 12ft. So the sooner they warm up in spring, the sooner they start blooming. Tops of the pots are about 4 to 6in. below the surface. Sometimes I do lower them down a few inches in mid-summer if the stems get too long. It 'gathers' the leaves closer together. But my pond stays between 85 and 90deg. all summer pretty much. When the nights start to cool about mid-October I keep the water as warm as I can by adding rainwater from a dark-colored rain barrel that sits in the sun. This way the water lilies bloom through November sometimes.

But it would make sense to me that the hardy ones would be better off in deeper water to keep them from freezing in winter. Although, in Alaska? Wow, that's a real challenging place for any type of garden let alone a water garden! Do you store fish and plants indoors or in a heated garage over winter, Oberon?

Here's a shot of my dwarf lotus 'Baby Doll' with the water lily foliage behind. Unfortunately it doesn't get quite enough sun in the confines of my pond to bloom very well. Otherwise, it's a terrific plant with beautiful leaves.