Has anyone planted either of these in a pond setting? I've seen them sold for water gardens, and the blooms/growth are quite impressive, much better than if they were planted on dry land. They are attractive because of the low initial cost (bulbs are cheap), and they don't look like they would spread like many other emersed plants.

I have several water iris in pots around my dock. I also have them in my koi pond in the greenhouse and planted some around a small island I built in the pond when the water was low. they do spread but not as fast as other plants and growing from tubers they are easier to pull and divide.

I have Yellow Water Iris's and I really like them. Here is what I have observed. They will eventually crowd out Cattails. My Musk rats come in every few years and clean out my cattails but won't eat the Water Iris's. The original plantings are now big and thick and should be devided, but they some how spread around the pond on the far sides by them selves. They will grow in the water a foot or two deep and they will grow out of the water three or four feet up the bank. They are keepers. They also come in white and purple.

John

John,some questions: where do you get your iris? Do you plant them next to water or in water? What time of the year did you plant?
Would you happen to know what would eat my lilies in two at the stalk? We don't have muskrats. Could it be turtles?

What are the problems or possible downsides to planting irises or other flowers? Will they help crowd out other vegetation? Are they annual or perennial? Is there a website where I can see a picture?

Dave if you go to my website and look at the greenhouse pictures you can see some picture. hey are not in bloom but will give you an idea of the look of the plant. They are planted in 3 gallon nursery pots filled with pea gravel. Bob

Hi Mike,

If you click on the little house at the top of my post you will get my pond page and I have Zetts address where you can buy all kinds of plants and fish at a reasonable price. They have a nice cat. but they aren't on the net. A yellow water iris goes for 50 cents. I'm sure it's illigle to dig them but I have seen many kinds of plants including iris's as I sail and kayak around different lakes.

Last year almost all of my lilies were cut off at the bottom of the stems and it wasn't until summer that they grew back. I decided that it was my grass carp and since I wasn't feeding them early last year they did the damage to my lilies. So early this spring I started feeding my fish as soon as the ice was off the pond and I didn't have this problem this year.

My pond picture is old but I have lilies circling my pond now. These lilies aren't mine but you can see how thick they can grow over time.

John

Sorry, the picture is of Iris's not Lilies.

John

Thanks John, the iris are beautiful. I'll go to your site.
I don't have any carp so I don't know what chewed them off. It has immediately come back with more leaves so hopefully it won't happen again.

Mike

Has anyone had any experience with iris and cattle? Will they eat them? They look good around a pond but would hate to waste my time and money juat to see them used as cow junk food.

Thanks
Don Stuart

Don, It has been my experience that there is nothing green on this earth that a cow won't eat when the going gets tough. If they have anything else to eat then your lillies/iris will be safe until fall when the grass starts to die. I have considered the same plants to put around my ponds, but I allow no cow. (NO BOVINE!) Cows are very harmful to shoreline too!

James Ed Broussard

Just to answer one querry mentioned above, turtles will graze on water lily stalks, you may notice the characteristic 'v' shaped guilotine bite on the orphaned stems.

Could be they are just munching for aquatic snails, but I have seen entire lily plants grazed by the not so little blighters...

Regards, Andy

I've always suspected turtles biting off lily stems. Good to hear some can confirm this and how to tell it stems were cut by a turtle. Snapping turtles seem to be the most common offenders in our local ponds. Never thought of snails on stems as targets, but it makes sense. Thanks for the tip.