"Spider" wrote
Thanks, David, that's a good tip. I've usually lined my aquatic pots with
torn up old tee shirts (there's a limit to how many dusters one can use!),
which keeps the soil in place, but I'll investigate cabbage nets.
I'm not sure I'd want to eat and paddle in water I'd just soiled! At least
chick poo pellets are sterilised. I'll not be too worried, then.

A pet beef of mine is the pots they sell for water plants covered in holes
so the soil washes out. Do water plants need drainage holes? I think not.
Recently I have seen some lily pots that are solid so don't need a liner at
all, actually you could use a bin from a pound shop, I have on occasion. For
example RHS Wisley and others use half dustbins.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 17/08/2014 15:57, Bob Hobden wrote:
"Spider" wrote
Thanks, David, that's a good tip. I've usually lined my aquatic pots
with torn up old tee shirts (there's a limit to how many dusters one
can use!), which keeps the soil in place, but I'll investigate cabbage
nets.
I'm not sure I'd want to eat and paddle in water I'd just soiled! At
least chick poo pellets are sterilised. I'll not be too worried, then.

A pet beef of mine is the pots they sell for water plants covered in
holes so the soil washes out. Do water plants need drainage holes? I
think not. Recently I have seen some lily pots that are solid so don't
need a liner at all, actually you could use a bin from a pound shop, I
have on occasion. For example RHS Wisley and others use half dustbins.



I know what you mean; it is rather frustrating. On one hand, I see the
roots growing through the mesh pots and am pleased the plant is growing
and flourishing; on the other, when I come to pot on that plant and have
to tear many roots to free it from the old pot, I am not so pleased.
I'd always assumed the 'escaping' roots were searching for oxygen or
food, and wonder if they could do that efficiently enough in a solid
pot. However, if you're seeing water lilies in solid pots, then it
makes me wonder.

My wee little water lily doesn't need anything like even half a dustbin!
It's a tiny one (Nymphaea Odorata Firecrest) to suit my tiny pond. I
also have a Nymphoides peltata and the ubiquitous Iris pseudoacorus.
Although the pond is on two levels, it's quite small, so I'm doing well
to get that much plant material in it. In the lower level, which is
very shallow, I have a few marginal/bog plants.

I do wish I had a huge pond, so I could have more fish and lots more
plants, but short of digging the house up, I'm not sure where it would go!

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On 17/08/2014 18:13, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sun, 17 Aug 2014 15:57:22 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:

"Spider" wrote
Thanks, David, that's a good tip. I've usually lined my aquatic pots with
torn up old tee shirts (there's a limit to how many dusters one can use!),
which keeps the soil in place, but I'll investigate cabbage nets.
I'm not sure I'd want to eat and paddle in water I'd just soiled! At least
chick poo pellets are sterilised. I'll not be too worried, then.

A pet beef of mine is the pots they sell for water plants covered in holes
so the soil washes out. Do water plants need drainage holes? I think not.
Recently I have seen some lily pots that are solid so don't need a liner at
all, actually you could use a bin from a pound shop, I have on occasion. For
example RHS Wisley and others use half dustbins.

I'm pretty sure Kew use huge tubs without drainage holes for their
Victoria amazonica lilies. But Spider should be aware that if she
introduces a highly nitrogenous fertiliser into her pond, she will get
an absolute mass of algae and the water will become like pea soup.




Mmmm. That is what I was worried about. I do want to be able to see my
fish occasionally, quite apart from the water becoming choked up with
weed. I may just use gravel or aquatic compost (if I can get it), then
use the 'feed bomb' method shown on TV recently. Can't remember if it
was Monty Donn or Alan Titchmarsh, but it looked quite easy.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

"Spider" wrote

Bob Hobden wrote:
"Spider" wrote
Thanks, David, that's a good tip. I've usually lined my aquatic pots
with torn up old tee shirts (there's a limit to how many dusters one
can use!), which keeps the soil in place, but I'll investigate cabbage
nets.
I'm not sure I'd want to eat and paddle in water I'd just soiled! At
least chick poo pellets are sterilised. I'll not be too worried, then.

A pet beef of mine is the pots they sell for water plants covered in
holes so the soil washes out. Do water plants need drainage holes? I
think not. Recently I have seen some lily pots that are solid so don't
need a liner at all, actually you could use a bin from a pound shop, I
have on occasion. For example RHS Wisley and others use half dustbins.



I know what you mean; it is rather frustrating. On one hand, I see the
roots growing through the mesh pots and am pleased the plant is growing and
flourishing; on the other, when I come to pot on that plant and have to
tear many roots to free it from the old pot, I am not so pleased. I'd
always assumed the 'escaping' roots were searching for oxygen or food, and
wonder if they could do that efficiently enough in a solid pot. However,
if you're seeing water lilies in solid pots, then it makes me wonder.

My wee little water lily doesn't need anything like even half a dustbin!
It's a tiny one (Nymphaea Odorata Firecrest) to suit my tiny pond. I also
have a Nymphoides peltata and the ubiquitous Iris pseudoacorus. Although
the pond is on two levels, it's quite small, so I'm doing well to get that
much plant material in it. In the lower level, which is very shallow, I
have a few marginal/bog plants.

I do wish I had a huge pond, so I could have more fish and lots more
plants, but short of digging the house up, I'm not sure where it would go!


Iris pseudoacorus is a bit of a thug and can get to be a problem especially
in a small pond. I composted my "variegata" and got some nice smaller water
iris. Iris laevigata comes in many colours and forms and is never invasive
and will look more in keeping with a small pond.
Nymphoides peltata can grow quickly and may become a problem eventually.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 17/08/2014 23:02, Bob Hobden wrote:
"Spider" wrote

Bob Hobden wrote:
"Spider" wrote
Thanks, David, that's a good tip. I've usually lined my aquatic pots
with torn up old tee shirts (there's a limit to how many dusters one
can use!), which keeps the soil in place, but I'll investigate cabbage
nets.
I'm not sure I'd want to eat and paddle in water I'd just soiled! At
least chick poo pellets are sterilised. I'll not be too worried, then.

A pet beef of mine is the pots they sell for water plants covered in
holes so the soil washes out. Do water plants need drainage holes? I
think not. Recently I have seen some lily pots that are solid so don't
need a liner at all, actually you could use a bin from a pound shop, I
have on occasion. For example RHS Wisley and others use half dustbins.



I know what you mean; it is rather frustrating. On one hand, I see
the roots growing through the mesh pots and am pleased the plant is
growing and flourishing; on the other, when I come to pot on that
plant and have to tear many roots to free it from the old pot, I am
not so pleased. I'd always assumed the 'escaping' roots were searching
for oxygen or food, and wonder if they could do that efficiently
enough in a solid pot. However, if you're seeing water lilies in
solid pots, then it makes me wonder.

My wee little water lily doesn't need anything like even half a
dustbin! It's a tiny one (Nymphaea Odorata Firecrest) to suit my tiny
pond. I also have a Nymphoides peltata and the ubiquitous Iris
pseudoacorus. Although the pond is on two levels, it's quite small, so
I'm doing well to get that much plant material in it. In the lower
level, which is very shallow, I have a few marginal/bog plants.

I do wish I had a huge pond, so I could have more fish and lots more
plants, but short of digging the house up, I'm not sure where it would
go!


Iris pseudoacorus is a bit of a thug and can get to be a problem
especially in a small pond. I composted my "variegata" and got some nice
smaller water iris. Iris laevigata comes in many colours and forms and
is never invasive and will look more in keeping with a small pond.
Nymphoides peltata can grow quickly and may become a problem eventually.




Yes, I know about Iris pseudacorus and its thuggishness. This
incarnation is a split from a much bigger clump and I'm keeping an eye
on it, you may be sure. The Nymphoides hasn't become a problem yet, in
fact it's struggling a bit this year.
I'm suddenly very interested in Iris laevigata! I must have a good
Google and see what's available. I do have Iris sibirica, but I can't
grow that in permanently wet soil, or the pond, but they are lovely. I
just love seeing Irises by water, but they do have to be the right kind.
Thank you for your considerable input to my learning curve, Bob!

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On 18/08/2014 16:06, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 18 Aug 2014 14:42:45 +0100, Spider wrote:

I'm suddenly very interested in Iris laevigata! I must have a good
Google and see what's available. I do have Iris sibirica, but I can't
grow that in permanently wet soil, or the pond, but they are lovely.

Why not I. sibirica, may I ask? Although I read it's not for wet
conditions, I grow it in a basket in the pond, partially submerged. It
does well enough. Maybe we have milder winters down here than some.



QWell, I thought I *could* have I. sibirica in a rather soggy bog
garden, but have just read that it doesn't like permanently wet roots,
which is a shame because that's where I have just moved mine to. I
would love to find that I don't have to dig it up and move it again.
I'm sure you do have milder winters than us. Although we're in London
and you might expect a mildish micro-climate, we are on high ground and
a bit exposed on one side. I do have a division from both my I.
sibiricas ('Tropic Night' and 'Sparkling Rose'), so I suppose I could
risk leaving the parent plants a bit longer and see how they cope. Last
year, I did put a raised glass lid over that part of the raised bog bed,
because I was worried that my Primula helodoxa might not make it through
the winter without protection, so I could try that again this year.

You might also look out for I. ensata, aka I. kaempferi, big broad
falls like large tongues. Purples, blues and whites. Lots of stripes
and colour variations.

National collection of water irises he
http://www.rowdengardens.com/index.php
browse and enjoy!


Ooooh! This is getting more and more exciting. Thanks so much for that
link. I shall explore it at length. I've already seen one I'm in love
with:~)) Thanks, Chris.

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On 16/08/2014 12:39, stuart noble wrote:
On 16/08/2014 12:18, Spider wrote:
I have been wondering about using Hydroleca as a substitute for aquatic
compost when potting up pond plants. There's probably a very good reason
why I've never heard of it being done, despite its being used for
hydroponics. Perhaps it's too light? I'd be interested in other
urglers' opinions/experience.


I imagine it has similar properties to vermiculite and perlite. Yes,
very light when dry, BUT extremely heavy when wet. They recommend it for
roof gardens, which doesn't make much sense.

It is not much heavier than the water it contains in its pores so around
1kg/L maximum. By comparison gravel tends to be 2-3kg/L.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown