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| I'm reading various posts about ponds, and would appreicate any info/tips/links about starting one. I don't plan on having any fish in it (not against it, just don't want to deal with caring for them). I'd like the pond for lily pads, I like their flowers. The dimensions I'm shooting for is about 2' deep, the diameter is about 6'. Is that deep enough? Will lilies survive mid 40s temps?
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| Hi there are lilies that survive way below freezing lol Tropical lilies will endure light frost but suspect they would croak if the water froze?? But you won't have that problem anyway?? The tropicals have the largest flowers,in the most colors ,as well as varieties of pads. You might check out the web on the MANY varieties of lilies that could easily be grown in your area as well as many other water plants. Then you could design the pool for the ultimate size of varieties that interest you. Some get gigantic but there are also dwarfs Do you plan on filtration ,water movement,fountains?? Above ground ,below ground, materials?? Of course location in your yard?? Are mosquitoes a problem in your area?? Fish are generally the best solution to that problem but there are several other ways but in your area there are many other types of fish that can be kept mostly depending on your winter lows. If you want a LIlY pond KOI and Goldfish are poor choices anyway.lol Sounds like a good size and depth but many lilies will get MUCH larger but are easily controlled. Good luck!!! gary |
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| Thanks for your response. The tropicals do look nice, but they need to be brought inside for overwinter, correct? It almost never freezes here, so with a pond that's 2' deep, I can safely say never. Do tropicals die if I leave 'em in the pond over the winter? I've also read that lilies don't like water movement, so I don't need a filter/pump, correct? No fountain either. Mosquitoes do appear from time to time in my yard. The pond is below ground. I was thinking of using pond liner, that seems to very common. Is there a better choice? |
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| What are you going to do about mosquitos? You should get a population of mosquito fish going. They are small, reproduce readily, and require no maintenance and they love mosquito larvae. |
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| kalevi: I certainly can put some fish in there to keep the mosquitoes in check, not opposed to that at all. Since I will have the fish, a filter/pump is now required, right? Thanks, |
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| When the fish density is low and there's plenty of foliage to keep the pond water shaded from warming into the 90's, a few fish will cope fine in a still water pond A trickle from a sprinkler or fountain set to run around dawn might be a more picturesque way to oxygenate the water for fishkeeping purposes Waterlilies are not keen on having constant splashing on their lilypads, it tends to accelerate decay |
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| Hi Since you want the pond for lilies I'd check out the mind boggling choices. They range from those that stay under 12 inches in diameter to those that grow over 30 feet with 7/8 foot pads. Obviously you'd need a MUCH different pool lol Tropicals easily survive light frosts so unless you get hard freezes just leave them alone. Select an area with as much sun as possible not only for the flowers but for winter warmth. Away from trees obviously?? Liners are by far the easiest, most economical way to build a below ground pool. Be sure to prepare the hole well I'd recommend vertical sides with a flat bottom will allow you to move the pots around. Or with two depths for those that prefer deeper water. A deth of around 3 feet will keep the water much warmer over winter. Much easier to bring the pots up then compensate for too shallow water. AS TO THE fish if the water stays above 40 degrees there is a huge choice of tropicals . Many colors forms what not. The larger the pool the less need for filtration but a small low volume pump and filter will go a LONG way improving water quality. Besides eating mosquitoes they will add a bit of color and interest to the water. The small choices may never require feeding depending on the water bugs lol. I keep only tropical fish for several reasons but mainly for color . gary |
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| Does any of you have photos of your pond(s)? Thanks, |
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About the same size as yours but 3' deep in center. Have to winter the goldfish over without freezing. Also sink the lilies in their pots into that area.  |
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| Kalevi Are those hardy lily?? have no experience with freezing but have always suspected tropicals will not survive hard freeze. Two years ago I added a heating system to a pool and was surprised thet the lilies went dormant anyway. gary |
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Hardy lilies. The tubers do not freeze when I drop the pots to the 3' depth level. Ice is about 18" thick during very cold winters.  |
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| I would suggest that you go 3 feet deep. You could do a graduated bottom with an area 3 ft., then a 2 ft. area, etc. Most lilies do o.k. in shallower water but some like a bit deeper water. |
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| kalevi4: that looks like an above ground pond, is it? If it is, how high is the border? I think I'll go for 3' deep, let's see how much I can dig. Thanks to all for the advice. |
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- Posted by sandy0225 z5 Indiana (northerntropics@sbcglobal.net) on Sat, Feb 6, 10 at 13:57
| dig a circle in the center about 3 feet x 3 feet across. Then dig a 2 foot wide X 2 feet deep circle all around it. Then you'll have steps for deeper water plants, and shallow water plants. You could even have another circle out from that which is only one foot deep for marginals. That would be a really good pond design, and be about 9 feet across. If you want fish that will stand even without a water pump just put a few feeder goldfish from the pet store in there. In a design like that you could have a lotus in the center, waterlilies on the 2 feet areas and marginals such as papyrus, or bog iris in the edges. It would be very pretty. |
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- Posted by nancym1956 Tulsa, OK Z6b (My Page) on Sun, Feb 7, 10 at 13:52
| Newgen, just offering my own experiences. I have had both tropicals and hardies survive in my pond here in Zone 6b with a little help. I built an inexpensive frame out of wood to cover the pond and stapled 3.5m plastic to it. Left it on all winter, and even my blue beauty tropicals survived, so I think some species are a little tougher than they're given credit for. This year, I put a Dauben tropical in a patio pot with an aquarium heater and a little plastic over the top, and the water has stayed amazingly warm. I had a blossom over Christmas, with snow on the ground! So, tropicals can be wintered outside with a little help. Hardies, as mentioned, will come through all kinds of winters like little troopers. You may want to try one tropical and see how much trouble it is for you, or you can treat them as annuals and replace them every year. If the water stays above 50 degrees, even most tropicals should overwinter. A two foot deep lily pond is adequate. I have lilies in a two foot deep section of my pond, and they bloom all summer. Don't forget to fertilize with either pond tabs or you can make a small bundle using Osmocote or similar, or you can even use plant food spikes. For mosquito control, you can simply put in a couple of comet goldfish or shubunkins
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| The close up pond is a 300ga poly stock tank buried in the ground, and the farther one is a 275ga lined pond. I mostly stick to hardy dwarf varieties and even then just one or two lilies can cover the entire surface.
But, sooo many beautiful lilies, and so little room... :) I live on a farm so it fits right in! No pump or filter. I keep two feeder goldfish in it for mosquito control (watch out, they reproduce like crazy!). About once a week I let the garden hose overflow it for about 20 minutes, and about once a month I do a 50% water change. This photo is early in the summer, usually there's hardly any water showing for all the leaves. There are 2 dwarfs and 1 medium sized lily in there. I drain this and put the fish and dormant lilies in one of the ponds with a heater for the winter (zone 4). The whiskey barrel is a lotus, and the blue tub is another dwarf lily - no fish, I used a granular mosquito killer product in those (Mosquito dunks work too if you don't want fish).
Have fun! |
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- Posted by catherinet z5 (My Page) on Tue, Feb 9, 10 at 15:04
| Hi Sarah! What dwarfs do you like? I have several 300 gallon tanks, and have come to realize that 1 med-large lily is almost too much for 1 tank. Up 'til now, I've had 2 lilies in them, and there just really isn't enough room for them. So next summer, I'm moving them so there is just 1 lily per stocktank........and they'll still probably outgrow it. Anyhow.......was thinking of a dwarf or 2 for my smaller tubs. |
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| Hey Cath! Colorado (salmon pink) - my favorite - tons of blooms in spite of my neglect! I have a couple others (red and a deep pink, but I got them from a friend and don't know their names. Even my dwarfs have to be trimmed occasionlly during the summer to keep them from taking over. I like to be able to see my goldfish! Be sure to get dwarf varities :0) S |
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- Posted by frugalgardener 5MI (My Page) on Thu, Feb 11, 10 at 20:19
| Sarah, What is the difference between your Colorado and Georgia Peach? A friend in CA sent me both from a vender at the San Francisco garden show. I am thinking they are both Colorados - another case of mislabeled plants. They do bloom like crazy so I'm not really complaining. |
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| My Georgia peach has more distanctly purple mottled leaves and the blooms are more yellow.the Colorado leaves are mottled, but not so vividly, and the blooms more peach colored. That said, I think that colors can vary depending on sunlight and fertization (which unfortunately I'm pretty lax at!) If you post photos maybe some members can help with id's. |
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