Water Lily Question

Question:


I bought a house in November that included a small water lily pond. I cleaned it out this spring, scrubbing the algae off of with baking soda and repotting one of the two lily pots. So far I haven't fertilized (didn't know about that until I read one of the other posts). The larger pot of lilies was doing great. It shot out leaves like crazy, but now they're covered with brown spots and seem to be decaying. Is this normal? Do I just need to fertilize? I've used barley pellets to keep the algae down and packets of some mosquito packets to keep away the mosquito larvae. Could these be causing the problem? The pond is also loaded with tiny little bugs (the size of a pin-head). Could these be causing the problem? I obviously have no idea what I'm doing, so would really appreciate some advice. Thanks.

 
Answer:
 
Pick off the leaves that are dying. Get them all the way down to the base of the stem. The outer ring of water lily leaves decay and die and new leaves grow. It's just the way of lilies. Yes, do fertilize.

I suspect the little bug looking things could be mosquito larvae, but if they are aphids, use this spray.

 Home gardeners should mix one tablespoon of dishwashing detergent with one cup of cooking oil. When pests strike, mix one to two and one half teaspoons of the detergent oil mix with one cup of water. The detergent causes the oil to emulsify in the water. It can be sprayed on the water lilies every ten days. Besides aphids, the mixture works against whiteflies and spider mites. It has been successfully tested on eggplants, carrots, lettuce, celery, watermelon, peppers and cucumbers. It tends to burn the leaves of squash, cauliflower and red cabbage.

To learn about water lilies and more, buy my book, "A Practical Guide to Building and Maintaining your Pond' here.

And join us at pondlady.comto ask and answer pond questions.  We have fun there.

The Pond is too Small

I live in Orlando, florida and have recently installed a pond on my patio. It is a 25 gal. above the ground barrel pond with 3 anacharis and 2 hardy water lilies. I have a fountain and a filter as I have a few fish in the pond. I also have a snail and a plecostamus for cleaning. the filter is rated for 50 gal. My question is how can I stop the goldfish (4 of them) from eating the water lilies? At one time I had 14 lily pads and now I am down to just 8. the lilies are still putting out new growth but they seem to only last about 1-2 weeks before they turn black and die. The snail and pleco take care of the remains. I feed the goldfish about 2 times a day as they are constantly at the water surface. Is there something I can do? Or am I just missing something? The patio is screened in so there is no chance of outside invasion. Thanks,

Pondlady sez: I think I am hearing several problems here. 1) Your fish are eating your water lilies
2) Your lilies are turning black and dying.
3) a combination of the two

I have a question for you.....is it the lily pads or the lily blooms that are turning black and dying. If it is the blooms, they open and close for about 3 days and then die. You must cut them off at the base of the plant, remove them and not let them foul the pond water. If it is the lily pads, you have some sort of lily disease, probably aphids.

Mix up a solution of a quart of water, a tsp of vegetable oil and a few drops of dishwashing liquid and spray the lily pads. Remove all the black ones before you do that.

If it is your fish eating your lilies, you have too many fish. You may have one linear foot of fish per 25 square foot of pond surface.

If you are feeding your fish, they are getting too big for your small pond. They should eat the anacharis and the anacharis grows faster than the fish can eat it. So, trim back your fish population, buy a few more bunches of anacharis so you have 1 bunch per sf of pond surface, stop feeding the fish and you should be OK.

Oh, and you really don't have enough room for 1 water lily let alone two. So give one away to a friend and keep yours trimmed back. Trim the outer ring of pads whenever a new ring forms. They may be turning black because they can't be in the water.

Read about problems like this one and more in my new book.  YOu can download it here.

If you have pond questions, you can get answers at my website, pondlady.com 

See you there.

Almost Water Lily Season

Those of us who live in subtropical climes and New Orleans certainly counts as one, are now looking forward to our first tropical water lily blooms.  Usually in May the first leaves reach the surface and we can start fertilizing.  I use Aquatabs, one per gallon of pot size. Yeah, I know there are special water lily pots that look something like dish drainers, but I'm lazy and still use the 3 gallon pots I transplanted them into years ago.  I put them on the bottom of my 18" deep pond and leave them there year round.

Those of you who have hardy water lilies don't have to worry about them surviving the winter, but most of use love the tropical ones, so we sink them to the bottom of the pond and hope they survive the cold. Most of the time they do, especially this past winter which really wasn't winter at all.  And for those of us who are water lily addicts, the new ones will be on sale in a week or so. Be still my heart!

So I wait for the opportunity to take these sorts of photos again this summer. And maybe get a  better photo.

You can buy my Pond how-to book here

It is consistently in the top ten best sellers in Landscaping.  Yippee.

It's on sale now for a buck.  Get it before the price goes back up.

And for pond info visit us at pondlady.com  You will find knowledgeable folks there who are glad to answer your questions.

Thank you for stopping by this morning.

Homemade aphid killer

How do you make homemade algaecide for my pond?
I live on a channel on a lake and I have aphids on my plants.  Is there a book that would show homemade remedies I could use?


Answer:


Here's a homemade aphid killer:
• The following technique can be used to treat water lilies for aphid infestation without harm to your fish. Aphids and many other garden pests can be easily controlled with an inexpensive, homemade insecticide--according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
•
• This recipe was developed after entomologists at the Agriculture Research Center in Phoenix, Arizona, discovered that a spray of soybean oil protected cotton from aphids and whiteflies. Home gardeners should mix one tablespoon of dishwashing detergent with one cup of cooking oil. When pests strike, mix one to two and one half teaspoons of the detergent oil mix with one cup of water. The detergent causes the oil to emulsify in the water. It can be sprayed on the water lilies every ten days. Besides aphids, the mixture works against whiteflies and spider mites. It has been successfully tested on eggplants, carrots, lettuce, celery, watermelon, peppers and cucumbers. It tends to burn the leaves of squash, cauliflower and red cabbage.
•
•
• As far as an algaecide goes, getting rid of algae might not be possible. We can control it in an ornamental pond, but a channel/lake, there are so many elements out of your control. Your channel just has too much run off to properly balance the water so algae will not appear. If you try floating plant material, it will soon become an invasive, noxious weed.

Water lily question

I recently introduced 6 fully grown water lilies to my 5000 gal pond. The leaves are starting to yellow and some have small brown/black spots on them. It is a full sun pond with a pump transferring water at rate of 600 gal per hour.




Pondlady sez:


 Water lilies need feeding every 10 - 14 days with Pondtabbs or other aquatic plant fertilizer.
They also like to have the 
tops of their pots at least 18" below the surface of the water and are happier even deeper. 
And remember, the outer ring of leaves gets yellow and needs to be pinched off periodically so the new leaves can grow.
Same with the flowers. They will open and close for about 3 days and then die. Pick them off immediately. Don't let them decay in the pond.
Pinch leaves and flowers off at the pot, not at the top of the water.
Oh, and water lilies do not want water falling on their leaves, nor do they want to be too near moving water. A foot or so away is fine.

Turtles and other critters

Critters and ponds go together. When we have a backyard wildlife habitat, we get the critters that come with it. Let's do the best we can do co-exist. You can just not invite most of these critters. The others we just have to live with.

Turtles will eat your water lilies. So will koi, crawfish, bass, perch or other lake fish. Raccoons and nutria will eat them as well. So will ducks and geese. I don't know about possums or muskrats, but I would not be surprised if they did.

Read all about ponds at Backyard Ponds with the Pondlady

Pond and koi problems

I just got some koi from a friend and now my pond is a muddy mess and stinks and my water lilies are dying. Do I need to clean the whole thing out and start over?

Pondlady sez: 
First of all, your koi are eating your water lilies. And the fish waste is making the pond stink. If you give the koi away and get a couple of plain goldfish and then balance your pond ecologically, you will have a clean pond that is relatively maintenance free. Yes, you do have to clean it out and start over. Sorry.

If you wish to keep the koi, you must add a biofilter and feed your koi.

More pond questions

I live in Orlando, florida and have recently installed a pond on my patio. It is a 25 gal. above the ground barrel pond with 3 anacharis and 2 hardy water lilies. I have a fountain and a filter as I have a few fish in the pond. I also have a snail and a 
plecostamus for cleaning. the filter is rated for 50 gal. My question is how can I stop the goldfish (4 of them) from eating the water lilies? At one time I had 14 lily pads and now I am down to just 8. the lilies are still putting out new growth but they seem to only last about 1-2 weeks before they turn black and die. The snail and pleco take care of the remains. I feed the goldfish about 2 times a day as they are constantly at the water surface. Is there something I can do? Or am I just missing something? The patio is screened in so there is no chance of 
outside invasion.

Pondlady sez:

 I think I am hearing two problems here.
1) Your fish are eating your water lilies
2) Your lilies are turning black and dying.
3) a combination of the two

You have too many fish in that tiny pond. It possibly could support two goldfish. As far as your water lily pads, they only live a couple of weeks and then die off because new pads are coming. You also have one more lily than the pond can support. Give a lily to a friend and keep the one you like best. Feed your lily at least once monthly after May. Oh, and you are feeding your fish too much. They are at the top because they are begging just like your dog does under the dining room table. They are not hungry.

Treating for Aphid Infestation

I have been getting many calls and emails about treating for aphids on water lilies, so this bears repeating:


The following technique can be used to treat water lilies for aphid infestation without harm to your fish. Aphids and many other garden pests can be easily controlled with an inexpensive, homemade insecticide--according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This recipe was developed after entomologists at the Agriculture Research Center in Phoenix, Arizona, discovered that a spray of soybean oil protected cotton from aphids and whiteflies. Home gardeners should mix one tablespoon of dishwashing detergent with one cup of cooking oil. When pests strike, mix one to two and one half teaspoons of the detergent oil mix with one cup of water. The detergent causes the oil to emulsify in the water. It can be sprayed on the water lilies every ten days. Besides aphids, the mixture works against whiteflies and spider mites. It has been successfully tested on eggplants, carrots, lettuce, celery, watermelon, peppers and cucumbers. It tends to burn the leaves of squash, cauliflower and red cabbage.

My water lilies have stopped blooming and look funny

Lilies and other aquatic plants begin to go dormant about the first of September. If they stop blooming in the summer check fertilization schedules and amounts. If the leaves are getting smaller they are not getting enough fertilizer.

A tropical water lily bloom lasts about three days until a new one takes its place. Pinch off the old flower and discard it. Do not let it rot in the pond.

Your lily will be happiest if the top of the pot is at least 6" below the surface of the water....deeper if you can. I place them on the bottom of the pond (18").

Water lilies like to be fed every 10 - 14 days with Pondtabbs or other aquatic plant fertilizer. They also like to have the tops of their pots at least 6" below the surface of the water and are happier even deeper. And remember, the outer ring of leaves gets yellow and needs to be pinched off periodically so the new leaves can grow. Same with the flowers.

If water lily leaves begin to disappear, check your pond for visiting wildlife.