Which is the best way to plant waterlilies, in a basket or a pot? I have bought some that come with a screen type pot, no soil, just rocks to anchor it down. An older lady in town told me pots. She said that it's like a real pond bottom, grows into the soil. Which is better? Thanks Melanie
A waterlily question please
Well...you are sure opening a can of worms here :)
Folks will argue all day about the best potting method...and it all depends on what you want and what works best for you. There are many ideas on what type of pot to use : plastic, those water garden pots, mesh, - or heaven for bid...no pot at all !
Generally...for hardies..the bigger the pot the better - having said that realize that the bigger the pot the bigger the lily..(how big is your pond) and the heavier it is to lift out...
For me : I plant my hardy lilies in those 12 inch rectangular watergarden pots (if I have them) using pea gravel and soil. I planted a couple in round oil changing pots this year...worked great but the lilies sure did get huge and I had to prune some.
Another debate is what type of medium to plant them in and I wont even go there....I use the pea gravel with soil in the middle..it works good for me.
I'm so sorry for opening this "can of worms." LOL!! My "pond" was once a swimming pool. We cut it in half, so it is now 18 ft x18ft x
2 ft. If I did my math right it holds about 3800 gal. of water. I do want my waterlilies to get big, because of the shade. My pond get full sun all day so just imagine the green water problem. I have a bog and waterfall that holds about 50 gallons. With so much conflicting information I just had to ask. Can I transplant my waterlilies at this time of the year or should I wait to the spring. I have 9 at this time. Some in mesh pots, some in gallon pots and some in popcorn bowls (about 3/4 of a gallon). People told me that it couldn't be done in a swimming pool, but I did it!! LOL!! To me it is just beautiful. Thanks Melanie
By the way all my waterlilies are hardy.
I have transplanted my hardy lilies at any time...of course...I try not to mess with them after mid August and give them time to settle in before winter.
No harm in asking :) Its just that you will get alot of ideas and so many of us are "SURE" we are right ....LOL...
There are many ways to do it...just choose which one best suits you ! If you want max lily size....I would plant in those round oil changing containers you get at Walmart for about $2. Soil and composted cow poop on the bottom half with pea gravel on the top.
As for the pool....your only problem may be that (assuming you have a plastic liner ?)...it will break down before good pond liner would and you may go out to a dry garden one day...otherwise..enjoy it !
Thanks so much for the info! I will get some of those pans for next spring. I don't want to distrub them as far as getting ready for the winter. As for the plastic liner I do have a back up. Also I have a very small lily called dixie darling. I have seen many of your posts wanting named lilies. This one is about 18" high and is pink with peach throat. It just has to go because we have to do some foundation work on the house. I will be glad to send it to you if you just let me know how and where. Thanks Melanie
Forgot to tell you that it came from my mother who got it from a hybrid grower in Raleigh NC.
Melanie...what a very sweet offer .
I had a good laugh (at myself)....since we were talking POND...I thought you meant WATERlily...and I was thinking gosh....I dont remember ever hearing of a waterlily with that name...I even googled it and then it hit me ....ROFLMBO that was sooo funny.
If it were me......I would go ahead and repot your lilies....now you dont have to but they have plenty of time to get in a bit more growth before fall arrives...you know how hot it can be in September.
I grow all of my waterlillies in kiddie pools. Not the hard plastic ones but the ones that come rolled up in a box. You hold the sides up untill it fills. My koi were eating them in my pond. They have been in the pools for about 6 years with no problem.
Meag, I had mine in the plastic lily pots, and for the last 3 years the blooms were small and there wasn't much to the lilypads. BUT, this year the Koi helped, they dumped the pots off of the ledge and in to the bottom of the pond. plant pots were floating lilies were in the bottom of the pond, I had surgery and couldn't get to them. So I thought well they should be ok for this year and I'll move them next year. NO, I wont, the blooms are huge and the pond is covered with lilypads, 8 to 12 blooms everyday . Pond is 2100 gal, 12 by 15 and 3 feet deep. Needless to say they are staying in the bottom.
It's deep enough for the winter so they won't freeze.. I LOVE my Koi!!!!
You might want to give it a try!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Were they still in the pots or were they dumped out? What was holding them down? I thought that lilies got bigger and better the older they got. Do you fertilize? Or do the koi do the fertilizing?
OHHH, so many questions??? I have nine lilies a few blooms. All are beatuiful but not what I expected. Am I just being impaitent?
Thanks, Melanie
Meag, The plants were dumped out of the pots, I had them in aquasoil so that went to the bottom of the pond too. But the "fish" fertilizer seemed to agree with them. The lilies are just the best I've ever seen. My local pond guru is amaized, he is the one that told me no deeper than 18 inched and they had to be in pots and to feed them once a month. Well they are now 3 feet deep, no fertilizer except the fish and they are wonderful. In fact last week I was at the pond store and he was putting some lilies in the deep pond and with out pots,HAHA, Maybe he doesn't know everything!!!! My best advice is give it a try, Good Luck