Flower is over a foot long,love these, always add a tropical look to the picture your trying to create!
Peace Lily
Those are some big leaves. Mine are much smaller. I guess I should have fetilized mine. Pretty good plant. Mine been in the ground for 3 winters, reaching in the mid 20's two years ago (record breaking) and it still lives on.
Dave,
Did the lily die back in those temps? I'm assuming so.
They certainly do add a lush effect!
Barb
Most of the lily turned to dark mush, I think the bottom of the stems were still living. There was some bottom leaves with some living tissue but not much. The temps were in the mid 20's all night and in the low thirties below freezing every night for a week. I had no mulch around them and no canopy protection (just walls for protection). My tree fern will soon be big enough to add some protection to them.
I had no idea they could take those temps,these leaves are about a foot wide and 3ft long,I know there is a larger leaf variety ,but haven't been able to find one yet.
I have some of both. I have a plant that was my mothers before she died. Then, when we had the funeral my ex-husband sent one. I never noticed until I decided to plant them both in the same pot that they must be two different varieties. One has larger leaves than the other. Also, the one with larger leaves blooms flowers, the other does not. Maybe I will divide them again. Anybody know, that center thing in the flower? Is that seed?
spathe,if you have another plant,you might be able to pollinate one
LOL mine too!
Mine has the "smaller" leaves and it flowers.
Ya and you can grow yours in the ground!
Hey all!
I tried an experiment. I had read that they could be used as a pond plant also. They did great in my little pond all summer. They bloomed all summer. The research also called for a fertilizer to keep it going good. I have koi and didn't know what to use. I added alfalfa cubes to the potting mix before putting them in the pots. Must have done the trick. I added the cubes to all my water plants and got great results.
George
Isn't alfalfa cubes high in nitrogen?
Did it turn your water green from to much nitrogen?
I would be afraid it might cause algae growth bloom.
Hmm this is interesting,I might give it a try next spring.
I was worried about the same thing. I had an algae growth right at the start. Then treated the water and never had a problem since. I based my decision to use the alfalfa on people talking about making tea out of it and using it on their plants. I think I would have had the algae growth at the start anyway until the pond cycled. I just use a basic "water over rock" natural filtration system. I did though empty some of my house aquarium water into the pond to jump start the system. about 20 gals of already cycled water may have helped keep the algae down. I am so happy with the results. I plan to make my pond bigger. One more thing I tried was anthuriums(sp). They also loved the pond. I have red, white and pink blooming right now.
George
Hmm now I'm wondering about other aroids being able to grow in a pond.
Do you get the alfafa cubes at a nursery? Could you also grind up pellets?
I get the cubes at the feed store. I used it for my goats. It's also used for horses. I think the pellets ground up would be fine also. The cubes are just cheaper if you can use the whole bag. One more interesting thing I am going to try next season are daylilies. Again it came across my research when deciding on plants for the pond. This year I just planted a common one at the edge of pond where It's boggy. It did great and flowered. Now is the test. Can it survive the winter being cold and wet.
I would love to plant some mini Daylilies around edge permanently and plant some special ones in pots to submerge. I will prob start with just some Sella's at first. Then get braver. Oh, the one thing that was a must with all these things I planted was the water must be moving at all times. They called non moving water "dead water" Now I'm worried how these tropical(Ky tropicals that is) are going to like being moved to the plant room for the winter. I am playing with the idea of an oriental fish bowl with a bubblier in it.
George
In my last home I grew astilbe in my pond.
Here is another I never thought would grow in water; I saw this at Longwoods Gardens. BTW, they also had mexican petunias in the water.
BTW Parlor palms will grow in water as well!
No way! This is opening up a whole new look for my pond next year.
George
Has someone had success with Parlor Palms (Chamaedorea elegans) in water? I didn't know that. It's cousin the Cat Palm (C. cataractarum) is found along water in nature. Of cours they won't take really cold for too long. BTW, many aroids (Alocasia, Colocasia...) do well near or in water.
I had several seedlings in water for over a year,they stayed green,but didn't grow real fast as they do in soil.
I put a string of peperomia in mine just to get it rooting and forgot about it. It grew down into the water and the koi eat the leaves. Or the sucker fish are eating it. I saw in Petsmart that they grow lots of things that we normally have. And they charge big bucks.
They say you can grow just about everything in water as you do in soil,but I've never been that lucky!
Just think of all that fertilizer the fish make. Richer than soil.
LouC
I was in a pet store today and they had lemon bacopa, lucky bamboo and what looked like poka dot plants in an aquarium.
Barb
Barb,these were all in water?
I grow my lucky bamboo completely submerged in my indoor fish aquarium. There is one thing I'm worried about though. Will my peace lily and anthuriums transition well into potting mix in my grow room after they have lived the summer in the pond. I thought about a big pot or another aquarium with a bubbler and maybe a feeder fish or two might be the best.
George
Sounds doable to me!
I keep a clay pot of lemon bacopa in a bird bath; I have a pot if mint in another birdbath. They always have an inch or two of water at their roots. Might be my imagination but I think the birds like having the plants there; they splash around then jump onto the pot to shake off.
Tropicman,
Yes, they were all submerged in water.
The mint in a birdbath sounds very interesting. I have a friend who has a birdbath, but isn't sure what to do with it. I'll recommend the mint. A nice verigated pineapple mint would look good in a colorful pot. The birdbath itself is dark.
Barb
Good idea,I wonder is lemon balm would make it in a bird bath????
Sounds lika an excuse to buy new plants!!
Barb
We need an excuse????
A neat bird bath plant for winter is the water celery, Oenanthe javonica (at least I think that's how to spell it.) The edges of the tiny green and white leaves turn pink in cool weather and it is gorgeous when it is showcased.
daylilydaddy-peace lily and anthuriums roots are what they have the japanese fighting fish living in. They eat what grows on the roots. You know, the pretty colored ones with the long graceful tail.
I am actually excited now about creating an indoor water garden using my plants that were in the pond. I over winter tropical in a grow room. That also doubles as "my" room only. Now to get my thinking cap on to buy/build it.
George
I have a above ground pond in my greenhouse,but can't keep the water warm enough to even grow water lettuce in it.
Don, it seems like yesterday that you were putting everything outside, are you reversing the process now?
How's the remodel coming along?
Christi
Hi,glad to hear your doing so well!!
Yep,everything is on it;s way back inside,still working so much overtime,and now getting plants in for winter,had to stop the remodel for a while,only finished the living room and bathroom so far,but hope to get started on it again this winter.