Planning to start my FIRST ever Water Garden....and so am looking for plants, etc for it. I saw the most wonderful little "pond" that looks like a water pump for only $35 with the pump to keep the water flowing and I think I will GET it!!! I am interested in some water plants. What does everyone have and what would it take for me to get a little. This thing is NOT very big and I am going to buy a couple fish too to help keep the mosquitos to a bare minimum (I hope!! Have TOO many flying, biting things in my yard as it is!!)!!
I am new to this so do not know what the names are of things I would want so if you can tell me what you have available I can look them up and see if it is something I would be interested in or not. Thanks!!
Bonnie
Planning to start my FIRST ever Water Garden....
You have mail
Hi Bonnie,
You could look through the aquatic plants listed on ebay, there are usually 1000 plus listed there at any time, the photos and decriptions would give you some idea of what might do well in your location
Regards, andy
Be happy to send yoou some horse tail reed. Doesnt even need dirt, just stick it in a little pot with some rocks. I also have swamp sunflower, elephant ears, ginger. i can hook you up.
rylaff--I am NOT surprised you can hook me up!! hehehe So email me and let me know what I can do to help the "hook up" out!! hehehe Thanks!!
As for ebay suggestions, 1-you need credit/debit card, 2-there are many disreputable people there I have heard of and 3-if I could afford to BUY everything I want or need I would not be in a trading garden site!! lol It would cost more than I earn a year for plants that I already have traded for much less the ones I want (especially since work is not easy to find here and I was unemployed for 3+ yrs before I got my current TEMP job!!).
I am with you on EBay - seed only and even that can get high! There are a few in the watchdog that tend to do a great job but still hard to come by. Do you know of someone who owns a pond? You can often get great plants on a farm pond, that is how I got some of my Rushes this year. (Just started my own pond this year myself) Just a thought - Mitch
Yup!! I am lucky there, Mitch!! A couple of my gardener friends from garden clubs have actually ponds and will eventually be sharing goodies with me. Just wish I knew more about the available types of plants so I can be more specific in requesting!! hehehe Bonnie
Why? you got to try everything right? At least that is my outlook if it is offered I will try it - LOL maybe that is why I never have room for new things anymore.....
Ok--I have so far Variegated Water Parsley, Pennywort, Dwarf Cypress, Dwarf Cattail (?) and some unknown thing. I am looking for Parrot's Featehr, Lizard's Tail, Water Hyacinth and/or mini Water Lilies. Anything else I should have?? Anybody have any to spare?? My "pond" is a laundry tub--hard plastic. I need to find ways to elevate some of the things I may get that do not need a lot of depth.
Bonnie
The good news is this: the plants you are looking for are exceptionally prolific, fast growing little buggers! I throw away several pounds of water hyacinth and parrot's feather every couple of weeks now that summer is in full swing. Got anything terrestrial plants that you'd like to exchange/swap? :o)
Well, I DO have a small clump of Fair Maiden (I think) Hosta, I have a clump of a sort of Philodendrian that I cannot remember the name of (normally grown inside but I have had some outside for two years now and it does well!! Has spread in fact!!), I have WAY TOO MANY daylily fulva (ditch lilies), Lion's Ear (not yet big enough to flower--usually doesn't flower until it is about 5-6'!!), Holly bush starts, Leatherleaf starts (a type of Holly but not similar in appearance-it grows upright on a stem, etc--photo and info here in plant files), and endless (it sometimes seems to me) other things that I never can recall all of when at the library on the computer!! LMK!! Thanks!! Bonnie
Define "WAY TOO MANY" ... lol
I have a few areas in the backyard that are a baby-step up from a bog. Sadly, I thought I had those areas taken care of only to watch several handsome specimens fall prey to various wet foot maladies. I just exhumed about 8 plants last night only to find standing water about 6 inches or so below the surface ... and it hasn't rained here in 6 days. :o
Sooooo .... anything attractive that would not wilt (and rot) under such conditions would certainly pique my interest!
What I have to offer (special, for you today):
- Lizard tail. I have one small group of about 8 stalks that is fully rooted, OR, I could hook you up with a pretty hefty population of cuttings (no less than a few dozen "stalks") from some plants that have already flowered and need to be "shortened."
- Parrot's Feather. Only available in groups of a dozen or more! LOL This stuff REALLY can sprawl when it's happy. I have one that literally looks like it's growing about a foot or more a week. (bear in mind I have a really high biological load and full sun on this pond, so your results may vary) It's my wife's current pond favorite, but I am sure she wouldn't mind some serious thinning out (besides, it'll look a lot tidier afterwards)
- Water Hyacinth. Also only available by the dozen! LOL I am at the stage of discarding about a dozen or more of these every week. By the end of last summer I was tossing several handfulls of this stuff a day into a compost bin.
- Dwarf Varigated Sweet Flag. I have several clumps of this happy little plant. It has proven to be a rather demure pond resident, somewhat unlike it's full-sized brethren. I have two 8"+ clumps that I returned to the soil last year that will READILY transition back to an aquatic life. I also have some in the pond that I would happily divide.
- Varigated Sweet Flag. (standard size) Keep these in a pot and watch out for creeping roots. I lift the pots every month or so last summer to snip runners to keep them from jumping to other nearby pots. Being a sap, I wind up with more plants as I stick the cutting into another pot and let them roll.
- unidentified Xanthosoma (elephant ear): I have quite a few of these around the garden, some in water, some in dirt. Some in moist dirt, some not so moist. Some in partial shade, some if full sun. No matter where I plant these they flouish! They have beautiful striations throughout the older leaves (pretty plain until about the 4th or 5th sets of leaves begin to open in early summer). Basically, think of the new Lime Zinger variety, except bigger and more complex in its coloration. I was given two tubers last summer and I now have no less than 8 LARGE clumps throughout our property. If grown in a pot, it's size will be restricted and it's demands for nutrients noticibly increased (especially if potted in the water).
- Rough Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale). Takes a while to establish itself, but gets quite a move on after that. In the pond I keep them potted and snip the "seed" (non-sterile) tops. Outside of the pond, I either keep them in a dry area where they're less likely to spread aggressively or else just let them go loose in moist areas that are off te beaten path. Not quite sure how I would safely package these, but I'd figure it out if you were twitching to get ahold of this as a result of a trade.
- Thalia (thalia dealbata). I would need to be mildly persuaded to let go of some of these. I know, they're more than moderately aggressive when they want to stretch their "legs," but I am in love with them in every way. I have one division in a 10" pot that I could be talked out of. Trust me, you'll only need one small pot to start with. If it's happy in your pond you'll have plenty of divisions next spring!
- Colocasia esculenta 'Imperial'. Another specimen that I'd need to be mildly coaxed out of, as I only have one pup available and ... well ... I suffer from a mild case of OCD ("mild" in my humble opinion, of course). I cannot get my hands on enough when it comes to aroids! My lord ... there are elephant ears and their cousins all OVER this place!
Come this fall (or, preferably next spring) I will finally start cutting loose with a whole bunch of various alocasia plants (and their cousins). My current collection includes alocasia guttata 'Bullata', alocasia amizonica, alocasia amazonica 'Purpley', alocasia sinuata (the giant, 9 ~ 11 foot, variety), xanthosoma saggittofolia (again, one of the 'giant' varieties), caladium 'Thai Beauty' and about 4 or 5 other caladium cultivars that I could not recall at the moment if I had to. If any of these interest you, keep in touch. I actually look forward to doing some trading with some of these pups next year (hopefully for other aroid species ... lol)
ps: I do have a dwarf water lily, but it's "her" first year in the family. Come next spring I should have a decent population of various lily's that I can divide. You might want to try www.lilypons.com ... I have done a decent amount of business with them and have continually been happy with them; not the cheapest place around, but REALLY good people, and always have had great luck with their plants (and fish). If nothing else, they have a nice online catalogue and a really nice printed catalogue that you can order (for free). Heck, I keep one on the coffee table! (much to my wife's chagrin. :o)
Something tells me someone is going to suggest we move this discussion to the trading forum in a tone similar to the one used when people say, "Would you two get a room?!?!?!"
ciao (puppy)
(oh, here's a pic of the heretofore unidentified xanthosoma. pic was taken of one of the "mother plants" about 7 or 8 weeks after I planted the culm last summer. Not a great shot, but it gives you an idea)
BogweedBuck
I just managed to somehow erase my entire reply!! WOW!! So here I go again!!
OMG!!! You have a LOT to offer!! I only have a tub and it already sounds too small!! hehehe About all I have to offer in return is this huge, wonderful Calla Lily clump I have (can spare one). I do not have it submerged or anything but I DO water it deeply every day like I do my Brugmansia (leave puddle of water all around it to soak in). It MUST be happy cause it is HUGE and sooooo beautiful. It has had one flower so far this year which didn't die or fall off or anything, just seemed to turn back to green and grow into a larger leaf. I can send also Peppermint--I have LOTS of this and it does NOT mind moisture at all--it will only spread more and more the wetter it is!! hehehe I have a few ears but mostly ones that I just got. The ones I had last year I made the mistake of planting in the soil here at the new house and I have yet to see them!! The soil here as it turns out is soooo acidic that a lot of things just simply die or grow poorly!! I think I see little leaves coming up now but I planted these in April so....you see?? There are/were the giant green kind. They got soooo huge last year!! I was sooooo happy!!
I have some Spider Plants in the ground that are doing very well, I have some Lion's Ear (NOT a water plant though--they are from Africa and like hot, dry, humid though they certainly DO need water everyday. They do not flower until the stalk reaches 5-6' but well worth the wait.), I have a small clump of Fair Maiden Hosta (at least I believe it to be Fair Maiden--somehow labels have a way of disappearing no matter what you do!! hehehe), I have a HUGE Monstera (Swiss Cheese) plant that I could certainly divide!! (I have mine outside in a darker corner of the house and water it everyday and it is growing and growing and growing. However it needs to go inside before it starts to get very cold outside.) I can get starts of Leatherleaf (aka Mahonia) a type of Holly but very different from what most people think of when they think Holly!! I have some Canna--in tubs, they like to be pretty moist so they would probably be happy in your bog area. I have too many in each tub--hate to divide them but it is best for them. They need lots of sun. Don't know if your bog area is sunny or not but where I have had these it is not and many have not flowered this year (or last year). This year I can't really help it--this house is surrounded by trees and tree canopy so whatcha gonna do?!! Move when the lease is up to hopefully somplace much sunnier!! hehehe Probably have lots of other stuff you might be interested in but getting older and CRS is now a daily thing! hehehe Well, LMK!!
Yes, we probably should continue this as dmail?? But then some threads go on forever like this! hehehe
Bonnie
Oh yeah!! Define WAY TOO MANY--well, the ditch lilies were existing when I moved here and the bed is about 4' wide and 6-8' long or more!! Is that or is that NOT tooooooo many??!! hehehe I would LOVE to (and plant to start) have a bed of all different kinds of daylilies--especially very fragrant ones. Just getting interested in these and so have not yet narrower my list of must have traits down yet really. Didn't realize there were soooooo many traits to have!!!