Hey guys, I'm new to ponding and water plants and the whole bit. I ordered a hardy "almost black" waterlily tuber and it came in today. I planted it in a 3 gallon rectangular container with the cut side against one side of the container. i tried to angle the tuber slightly but there was growing points on each side and a third in the middle. when I put the pea gravel over the soil I pretty much left the whole top uncovered will it be okay like that? does it sound like i did everything right? top of tuber completely uncovered ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden )
You did good! What soil did you use? Regular garden soil is best. Want to see pics when it blooms. Feed it once a month for best blooms.
I'm pretty new to water plants too... but what you describe is pretty much the instructions when I got my first water plants going. Is this the Louisiana Black gamecock? And I second Pondlady... please post photos of their blooms.
okay good *sigh of relief* . Cherylad no this is an "almost black" waterlily. the gamecock is planted also but doesnt look very well when i got it the seller had chopped it down for better shipping i guess so all the blades she chopped are browning. who knows maybe it will recover. heres the iris hopefully recovering black gamecock iris ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) heres the bloom for the tuber i just planted "almost black" waterlily ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden )
Hopefully they will all survive and bloom for you. That "almost black" is a real beauty! How big is your pond? Any photos?
Just wanted to check on this as i'm looking to repot my water lilly later in the year. I had always read that you should use "special" pond soil. due to keeping the nitrogen levels down in the pond? would be great if I could just use the garden soil we have here. That "almost black" flower looks amazing
@cherylad I'm renting right now so the preform is out on the back porch not the prettiest but it works well enough.about 150 gallons. cant wait to buy a house(hopefully by the end of this yr.) where i can actually put it in the ground and landscape it! @danjensen I used regular garden soil from walmart with all my pond plants so far. My lotus are really thriving in it(mixed with compost manure) im expecting aerial leaves any day now! and so far everything else (which is in just plain garden soil no compost)seems to be fine. i read that lilies will grow in pea gravel alone and a lily plant i just bought was just floating around in the lady's pond plant tub. so I'm pretty sure they aren't that sensitive. but I'm no expert
heres some pics...i told you its far from pretty. this is just preparing for the real one i will one day have. (hopefully very soon) to the left is the gamecock iris and a yellow water lily. in the floating ring is water lettuce and duckweed. the sunken container on the right is the "almost black" tuber i bought and theres some hyacinth all the way in the corner. behind the pond in that little blue bucket is some pickerel rush waiting patiently for me to plant it. preformed ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) preformed side view ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) Here's my lotus but its separate from the pond Lotus ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) and a few of the fishies 3 of my fish ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden )
while trying to rig something to protect my lily from the fish i accidentally pulled it up out of the pot:/ well i figured it was out anyway and i was amazed at the growth! its only been two days since that picture up top when i first planted it here it is now! lily after two days of being in the water ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) Nymphaea "almost black" replanted ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden )
heres the lily today! omly a week after planting the tuber. first floating leaves on my "almost black" waterlily ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden )
Wow. This is cool. And that almost black bloom is gooo-djaz. When in Taiwan, I saw a lot of potted water lilies for sale at flower markets and then lots in front of houses (real gardens there are rare as land is really expensive and they just build houses to live in). I WANNA KNOW: can i grow one water lily in JUST A POT? I mean not in a pot and then submerge it in a pond, pool ...etc. JUST A POT on the porch. Would this work? What do I do with it during winter months (cold, dark...)??? I'd really like to give it a try!
Chubby.... I love your preform! It's going to be beautiful when your plants start to thrive. I was tempted to get something like that, but where I live, I'm afraid too many critters would be going in it (coons, rabbits, foxes, snakes etc.) Do you have it just set up on cinder blocks? This give me ideas. I've been wanting something larger, and I do like the "curves" and different levels. Hmmmm.... And that "almost black" is a real eye-opener! Once I finally do get a bigger "pond"... I will be asking where I can buy one of those! Calin... Yes... you too can have a water lily! I have a pretty good size barrel with some growing. And then this little tub. This is how it looked when I first set it up. It now has just a single water lily growing in it, which is about to bloom. I'll post a photo of it then. But this will at least give you an idea of a size you could easily have on a patio. I left it out all winter in freezing temps. One time, the ice was at least 2 inches thick. Lily not only survived... but is thriving! Water Container Garden #3 ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
thanks cherylad. yes hopefully all my plants survive. one certain fish seems hellbent on destroying them:/ he was a gift from the hubby so I don't know what to do lol. yes, its just set up on the porch with cinder-blocks supporting the plant shelves. we learned very quickly the pond's shelves are not thick enough to hold its weight when above ground and filling up with water. haha. cant wait to have our own house where it can actually go in the ground! I got this one on craigslist for $50.00 figured I would start out cheap since im brand new to it
