SELECTING & ADDING FISH
When you get your new plant(s) home, it is important that you re-pot them. Yes, that's right. Re-pot them. The media they have been packed in for sale usually has far too many organic materials in it to add to your pond, especially if they have been potted in peat moss. Also, the pots they come in are intended for retail display and are far too small to accomodate healthy root growth, which is essential for strong foliage later on. Carefully remove the plant from the pot and wash as much dirt off the roots as you can.
Back under "Dig Your Pond", I suggested you dig the first plant shelf 8" - 10" below the finished water line. There really is a method to my madness. You see, most large nursery pots are 8" - 10" tall, so if you dug your plant shelf at the right depth, you will be able to set your marginal plants on that first shelf without having to prop them up with bricks or milk crates. If you haven't been saving your large nursery pots, you can ask your local nursery for some, or find that friend who saves everything. Pots without holes in them, which are intended for use with marginal plants, can be purchased, but regular 8" - 10" tall, black nursery pots do just fine.
Take your empty pot and line it with newspaper to cover the holes at the bottom and prevent any of your potting medium from escaping into the pond. I plant my own marginals in either plain river rock, or the nastiest clay soil I can find. You don't want to use anything with a lot of organic material in it because this will decompose quickly and foul your water. Plus it's STANKY!! You especially DON'T want to use potting soil, as it is LOADED with organic material.
Take your newspaper lined pot and add two or three fertilizer tabs to the bottom of the pot. Fill the pot up with river rock or clay, to about 3" from the top. Set your plant roots in the center of the media (green side up) and fill in around them, tamping down lightly to hold the plant in place until the roots become established. Lastly, add a 1" - 2" layer of river rock to the top of the pot to help prevent your fish from poking around in there and stirring up the planting medium.
You are now ready to place the plant in the pond. Set the plant in with the pot AT AN ANGLE, not straight in. This will help eliminate bubbles coming up through the planting medium and clouding the water.
To learn how to repot a water lily, CLICK HERE.
To see marginal plants we currently have for sale, CLICK HERE.
To see water lilies we currently have for sale, CLICK HERE.
To go to the Main Plant Page for other options, CLICK HERE.
SELECTING & ADDING FISH