You need to ensure optimum planting conditions when planting your brand new water garden. You need to take account of everything, from making sure you are using the correct soil and planting in the right location. But unlike other types of gardening, there are so many other things for you to consider.
For example, you have to figure out how to deal with keeping your pond alive in the winter, and how to choose the optimum water temperature and depth for the pond to be constructed. Water-based plants benefit from harder types of soil, clay-based varieties to be particular.
The usual potting mixes are not going to cut it, because their light consistency isn't ideal for preserving the plants' required nutrients. Make sure you are using damp soil when planting. Use about two thirds of the container when planting.
There are also special considerations when growing water lilies - place the rhizomes with the growing tip pointed semi-angular towards the center. You'll know it's the growing tip if you see eyes on it like a potato. In effect, you are allowing the plant to grow across the middle of the container.
Cover the tip with soil after placing the rhizome properly - make sure the tip rises just above the soil's level. Plant tropical water lilies in the center of the container - these are different from your conventional water lilies.
Likewise, lotuses are planted in the center, but you need to exercise care when handling their rhizomes, which can be quite fragile. The process would be different when planting submerged plants and emergent - start by placing a generous amount of soil in your pot, centering the plant, then filling the pot with even more soil, putting them over the roots.
The next step would be to cover the soil with half an inch of gravel after the potting process. This helps keep the soil from clouding the water and also from eroding away. Afterwards, you can go ahead and submerge the plants as recommended.
You can place bricks underneath containers to help bring them to the correct depth. Each plant should have a specific depth for submersion, so make sure you find this info out for yourself. Water lilies generally grow best at a depth of about 12 to 18 inches above the top of their container.
The pot could be placed at a shallower depth at first, and lowered later as the plant grows. It's important to give the pond enough sun, because the container can be placed deeper with more sunlight. For tropical water lilies, they need to be grown at a foot's depth, but sometimes you can make an exception and grow them at 6 to 8 inches.
Lotus plants can be grown at only about 4 or 6 inches depth, while emergent plants just need about two to three inches of water above them. Bricks or inverted pots can help you get the right height over the top or depth.
Don't overfertilize your water garden or you may encounter some unpleasant issues. You could be growing algae by using too much fertilizer. A granular fertilizer or slow release tablets would be ideal for water plants. For specific fertilizer types, these would include 5-10-5, 20-10-5, 12-8-8, and 10-6-4.
Fertilize your plants every month from April to August. Tablet fertilizer is generally the easiest to use. All you have to do is place the tablets underneath the soil. Over-wintering your plants can be done to prevent your aquatic plant life from getting snuffed out in the winter.
Over-wintering is done as a preventive action to make sure that the ice and snow doesn't kill your plants. Before winter makes it way into your home, make sure you've brought in all your plants if you're operating a shallow water garden.
Keep the plants above freezing temperature but no more than 50 degrees to preserve their dormancy. Prepare your plants for the spring by ensuring that the roots stay moist somehow. An alternative would be to remove the rhizomes from the pots and keep the plants stored in plastic bags with moist sphagnum moss. There is a special process for tropical water lilies - keep them in an aquarium tank at around 70 degrees and keep the tank well-lighted.
For example, you have to figure out how to deal with keeping your pond alive in the winter, and how to choose the optimum water temperature and depth for the pond to be constructed. Water-based plants benefit from harder types of soil, clay-based varieties to be particular.
The usual potting mixes are not going to cut it, because their light consistency isn't ideal for preserving the plants' required nutrients. Make sure you are using damp soil when planting. Use about two thirds of the container when planting.
There are also special considerations when growing water lilies - place the rhizomes with the growing tip pointed semi-angular towards the center. You'll know it's the growing tip if you see eyes on it like a potato. In effect, you are allowing the plant to grow across the middle of the container.
Cover the tip with soil after placing the rhizome properly - make sure the tip rises just above the soil's level. Plant tropical water lilies in the center of the container - these are different from your conventional water lilies.
Likewise, lotuses are planted in the center, but you need to exercise care when handling their rhizomes, which can be quite fragile. The process would be different when planting submerged plants and emergent - start by placing a generous amount of soil in your pot, centering the plant, then filling the pot with even more soil, putting them over the roots.
The next step would be to cover the soil with half an inch of gravel after the potting process. This helps keep the soil from clouding the water and also from eroding away. Afterwards, you can go ahead and submerge the plants as recommended.
You can place bricks underneath containers to help bring them to the correct depth. Each plant should have a specific depth for submersion, so make sure you find this info out for yourself. Water lilies generally grow best at a depth of about 12 to 18 inches above the top of their container.
The pot could be placed at a shallower depth at first, and lowered later as the plant grows. It's important to give the pond enough sun, because the container can be placed deeper with more sunlight. For tropical water lilies, they need to be grown at a foot's depth, but sometimes you can make an exception and grow them at 6 to 8 inches.
Lotus plants can be grown at only about 4 or 6 inches depth, while emergent plants just need about two to three inches of water above them. Bricks or inverted pots can help you get the right height over the top or depth.
Don't overfertilize your water garden or you may encounter some unpleasant issues. You could be growing algae by using too much fertilizer. A granular fertilizer or slow release tablets would be ideal for water plants. For specific fertilizer types, these would include 5-10-5, 20-10-5, 12-8-8, and 10-6-4.
Fertilize your plants every month from April to August. Tablet fertilizer is generally the easiest to use. All you have to do is place the tablets underneath the soil. Over-wintering your plants can be done to prevent your aquatic plant life from getting snuffed out in the winter.
Over-wintering is done as a preventive action to make sure that the ice and snow doesn't kill your plants. Before winter makes it way into your home, make sure you've brought in all your plants if you're operating a shallow water garden.
Keep the plants above freezing temperature but no more than 50 degrees to preserve their dormancy. Prepare your plants for the spring by ensuring that the roots stay moist somehow. An alternative would be to remove the rhizomes from the pots and keep the plants stored in plastic bags with moist sphagnum moss. There is a special process for tropical water lilies - keep them in an aquarium tank at around 70 degrees and keep the tank well-lighted.
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