Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment Accelerating Probigation of cat tails and Lilies?

I am experimenting with certain species. Water lilies are awesome in our neck of the woods. Forget tropicals and minis. They die from cold or are too small and have shallow water requirements. So what I have found from years of trials and tribulations is one species that does surive a 10+ foot drawdown. I also am a supplier to aquatic nurseries and have many wholesale connections. I have propagation and storage tanks just for them.

I'll lay out the logistics as best I can. First, every species has a limit of what it can do. As in how much water it can reach through from the bottom and can it survive a complete out of the water experience. Soil requirements are almost irrelevant. I have seen them grown on muck laying on asphalt, and starting in a 1/4 of silt. I found one strain locally from a pond owner that had them leap out of a wine barrel container and overtake his pond in fifteen year period. His water had some drawdown but they were never out of the water. I took some rhizomes from him and planted them at different depths during a drawdown. The ideal depth was 4-5 feet below surface full. The plants are slow spreading, because of abbreiviated growing season and easy to maintain as they are completely out of the water late Summer. I can dig out any and relocate them without too much trouble. I am experimenting with different colors, but hardies are somewhat limited in color choice, and how many can survive those brutal conditions remains to be seen. Pros are just huge eye pleasers, LMB love them, frogs also. In this application they almost cannot overpopulate. I'll get my pal Omaha to post a stand I started a few years back and describe it.

On containers. On a small pond, containers are not a total disaster, and you can move them up or down. But eventually the rhizomes will break through almost anything. A few drawbacks are the amount of effort required and the soil you put in. It's much easier to plant them directly and let nature determine the outcome. If I don;t have a drawdown pond, containers are much better to prevent spread.