Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Identifying plants Are these Lilly Pads OK ?

I would like to add some surface vegetation to our pond, mainly for small fish to hide in. We have lots of submerged christmas trees and pallets/rocks. Our pond is 3/4 acre, about 10 ft deep, and slopes fairly well.

I have read on here that there are only certain types of Lily Pads to use, and wanted to know if these were OK. They are slick leafed, have yellow flowers, and grow quite profusely. These are from a 18" deep ornamental pond behind our work site, so they grow quite well. I was wondering if they would grow as fast when they get to deeper water.

Our pond is south of Houston, TX so it stays warm (hot). We have 2 grass carp in the pond as well.

If these are not acceptable, please recommend something that is good for fish but not overly invasive. We have the grass carp to control charra grass.

Thanks.

Those look like Spatterdock to me. I wouldn't put them in.

I'd send andrew davis a PM about Hardy Lilies. He's a member here.

Here's some photos that he took. I don't know if he has all those at his place, but he's an expert on Hardy Lilies.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/

I concur on the spatterdock. It's been my experience it isn't nearly as invasive as fragrant/white water lily, but it still spreads way too vigorously for a private pond. You definitely want to get a hybrid, that way they do not produce viable seeds and don't spread too rapidly. Otherwise you end up with everything less than 6' covered in lilies spending lots of time and money on removing them.

Don't put them in our pond. At first they may not seem too bad but after 6-10 yrs of establishing they will be a BIG nuisance. Their old roots can be 3"-4" in dia and easily more than 6-8ft long. Look into a few hardy hybrid water lilies. Start by looking at:
http://texaswaterlilies.com/Hardywaterliliesorderpage.html

Here is a link to quite a bit of previous discussion here about water lilies in ponds.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=110943#Post110943

Ok so I read a lot of that. And of course I still have a question. Is there a Water Lilly you can put in a 1 acre pond and it not get crazy on me???I would love to have a few but I don't want them to get out of control.

Yes, just about any hybrid is exceptable. They do not grow as aggressively and don't produce seed that can create even more plants where you don't want them.... Anyone seriously considering water lilies should refer to or purchase the back issue of PB mag that has the article, Hybrid Water Lilies Part 2. Jul-Aug 2010.