Is there a secret to growing Black Magic. I purchased one for $14 at a pond store, killed it. Then traded for a small bulb last summer, tried to overwinter it inside and it looks dead too. I must have an EE disability !
I kept them damp but not wet and in 3/4 sun but they just slowly fade away:(
charlotte
is there a secret
Charlotteda, I too bought my first Black Magic at a pond store. It never did that great in the pond, but did really well in the flowerbed in full sun, even moisture, rich soil. I've killed a few trying to grow them in sandy soil in full sun, I think I don't water enough.
Sounds like it may not be the best pond plant, even though the pond stores push them.
Charlotteda...mine grow rampantly in a depression where soil has formed about 5" deep and it is always moist, even after 2 weeks with no rain. It sends out runners all over the place. I think 'damp' is a key here...and I don't fuss with them...no fertilizer even. They are growing in the sun blasting down thru thin tree cover.
Carol
I think the trick with them is the same as with cannas. Pot them, let them leaf out, and THEN set the pot shallowly in the water. You just want the bottom of the pot in the water where it can continually suck up the water. Don't completely immerse the pot, flooding the plant. So it's the equivalent of setting the pot in a saucer of water.
You can use this technique for any moisture loving plant, like hostas, ferns, peace lilies, etc. All can be grown quite well in the pond. Hostas just look beautiful in ponds.
NancyAnn
I would love to try the hosta but my pond is definately a "full sun" pond !
In the summer, I put mine in pots of gravel and set them in a big farm watering trough. Before that I grew them in a trough of pea gravel. I don't have to feed them or water them and they get big and happy. I find the problems start when I take them out of the water. LOL I have also had very good luck growing them in Miracle Grow Potting Soil. I think it stays too wet.
My first one (Black Magic) was grown in a pot of heavy soil and sitting inside of a bucket of water and in full sun. Last year I grew one in the ground and it grow a lot more. I just made sure I watered it every day.
Wow, I wonder why I keep killing mine? Maybe too much water.
Mine had water clear up to the soil line. At our local greenhouse, they have them sitting in a tub of water too. Maybe it depends on what it has been used to growing in.
They won't grow in water!......tell that to this plant!!LOL They have to be adjusted to water slowly till aclimated.Then they can be submerged just below the surface. Charlotte email me.............I'll set you up with another one. :-)
Mine grows in regular soil in a pot, but I do give it extra water. Starting to come back now after not liking the cold weather.
This Black Magic is grown in full western exposure. It gets tons of food and watered 2x day with automatic watering system. I live in MS and in July and Aug. it is very hot. I have grown BM in bucket of water but they are from plants without bulbs. In the water they only form roots, or at least mine didn't form any bulbs while in water.
To look their best, I find that with the heavy feeding and watering my BM need dividing each year. If not, they grow on top of each other and all the bulbs that are on top of the ground and other bulbs freeze and rot in the winter.
