Quote:
Originally Posted by Want Them All
Hi,
I just picked up one of these, it even has the yellow flower! I'm planning on putting it in my pond. I'd appreciate it if you guys can help me with the following questions:
[1] It's currently in a 5-gallon plastic pot. The seller told me to just put it in the pond, don't worry about the soil leaking out. I'm very concerned about the soil messing up the balance of the pond water. I looked around town at 3 different places for "aquatic" soil. None had it. One store personnel told me that aquatic soil is overrated, they're mostly gravels anyways. They said that I can use pea gravels instead, and just add some aquatic plant fertilizer to the pond. Does that sound OK?
[2] I also looked for a mesh basket, since the pot the plant came in is just the run-of-the-mill black plastic. Isn't it much better to use a mesh pot, since the roots can stick out better? There's nothing like that availabe at the stores I went to, so I'm planning on drilling a bunch of holes into the original pot, figure that's just as good, what do you think?
[3] How deep should I place this plant in the pond?
Thanks!!
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1) Pea gravel is fine but remember, you will have to move and clean the pot at some time. After the silt, roots, etc. get into the pot, it will weigh a ton. Also if the plant uses all of the aquatic fertilizer, it will stop growing. I would suggest fish, which add fertilizers all of the time.
2) If the roots stick out of the mesh basket, the rhizomes that create pups will as well. 'Fontenesii' often send rhizomes out at above ground in boggy instances,....you'll need to determine how you want this plant to grow. It pups often.
3) It can go as low as a foot under water, but 6 inches would probably help it grow better.
Good luck. One of my favorite plants. Mine are set in a boggy setting and the stems are about 4-5 feet tall and the leaves are nearing 2 feet in length.