Small Ponds Water Lily Soil and Containers

What gardener doesn’t have a problem spot in his garden? With us it is the entire garden. You see, we’re in the process of landscaping a new home. Having gardened on clay as stiff as cement, we made certain this new home would be built on easily tilled soil. So sandy loam it is, but you can’t have everything. Our new land had not a single tree or shrub to add interest, and it does take a long time to get them going. Meanwhile, we’re concentrating on things of interest that can take the sun.

To date we’ve found the easiest to care for and most talked about nook in our newly made garden is our pool garden. It seems that some type of pool can be added to almost any garden and the flowering plants growing in the water thrive in full sun.

Our pool is pretty, but certainly no budget breaker. We purchased two five-foot bathtubs from a wrecking company. The total cost, delivered, was $35. The tubs are one-foot five inches deep. For sinking them we dug out two holes 5 feet long, three feet wide, 25 inches deep. Our soil is sandy, but we added an inch layer of coarse gravel as fill at the bottom of the excavation and along the sides of the “pit.” If your soil is clay, you might have to increase this gravel fill to as much as eight or 12 inches.

After digging the holes and placing the fill, we lowered the tubs into the excavations with the rim of each tub extending three inches above the ground level. To add a good looking finish we laid flag stone around the tubs. You might prefer plain rock or perhaps brick. We used cement to make the flag stones adhere. If you don’t bind them with cement, weeds soon appear between the cracks.

The tubs are end to end with flag stone between them. This makes ten feet of pool-planting area. Our first foundation planting was creeping phlox wedged into the irregularities formed by the`jutting stone edges.

We rely on clumps of lacy white alyssum and rich blue lobelia to give the pool edge summer and into fall color. Planted close to it, too, are yellow daylilies and a pink-flowered variety.

What To Plant

In the pool we grow day-blooming waterlilies—one plant to a tub. We’re happy with our first choice of a rosy-pink, and white flowered variety. Water hyacinths, reasonably priced, easy to grow, and pretty to look at add a “blue” note. Several sprigs of frilly green parrot’s feather make another pretty addition to the water garden.

You might choose to make your pool by digging it out to a depth of three and one-half feet adding fill and then cementing the pool. No matter what your choice you’ll find exciting things to grow in your garden pool and you’ll find too that a pool of any size adds real character to your garden.

Those who grow and breed waterlilies tell us that for maximum display each waterlily should be allowed about four square feet of water space.

You can buy your first waterlilies potted as we did, or you may want to rely on your own planting. If so, here’s how: plant the lilies in a pot so they have root space about 12 inches wide and six inches deep. Those we grew the first year came planted in eight inch pots. To us the blossoms were beautiful, but an expert would have said, “You’d get bigger blossoms if you gave the roots more stretching room.” Now our lilies are planted in pots which are about 14 inches wide and 6 inches deep. The growing soil is a mixture of 3/4 garden soil and 1/4 rotted cow manure.

Growing Bulbs

Tropical waterlilies grow from small bulbs; hardy ones from elongated rootstocks. Plant the bulbs so the crown is slightly above the soil. Hardy lilies should be planted horizontally.

Do not plant lilies until they are ready to be submerged into the pool. Fill the pool about half full of water about a day before you are planning on planting. This is to warm the water. After planting, the lilies should be placed in the pool. Don’t fill the pool completely. The lilies should have no more than six inches of water above their crowns. As leaves stretch out, gradually fill the pool. If the water is cloudy from the fertilizer in the soil, drain the pool and start over again. With us, draining the pool is easy. We pull the plug, and presto! It’s drained.

Tropical waterlilies shouldn’t be placed in the garden pool until the outdoor temperature is about 70 degrees. Here in Minnesota that means some time after Memorial Day. The hardy types can be set out anytime after temperatures reach the high 50’s.

Waterlily Pests

Aphids are about the only pests that bother waterlilies. If your pool harbors only plant life (no gold or tropical fish), spray the infested lilies with any of the recommended aphid killers. If you have fish in the pool, rid the lilies of aphids with the forceful spray from the garden hose. To date (and I’ve my fingers crossed) nothing has bothered our lilies.

With the tropical fish, however, it’s a different story, We found this little spot an excellent place for summering our tropical fish. In one pool lived mollies, guppies and sword tails; baby bettas fattened up in the other pool. One day we realized that our fish population was shrinking. Close examination showed us that perched on a waterlily leaf was a medium-sized snake. He’d stick out his red tongue and quick as a wink he’d gobble up an unsuspecting fish. I wonder if other gardeners have thought as I did that waterlilies need running water, or perhaps one of those fancy spray-fountain affairs for good growth. Waterlilies are easy to please and they grow best in still water.

Winter Protection

If you grow the hardy kinds, store them by draining the pool. With the added protection of boards over the pool and a four-inch layer of straw over the boards they’ll survive almost any amount of cold. With tropical waterlilies storage is more difficult. Winter, if possible, in a 50-degree spot. Here they can be left in their pots. We have no basement, so we remove the plants from their containers with an earth ball still clinging to them. The plants are dried in a cool corner for about a month. After “hardening off” we wash the soil away from the roots and carefully remove the little tubers clinging to the rootstocks. These are stored in damp sand and wintered in the greenhouse. In early spring we take the tubers out and start them much as we do tuberous begonias or gloxinias on any dampened medium such as sand, moss or vermiculite. When growth shows, we pot them in rich soil and later remove them to the outdoor garden.

If you don’t want to go in for lilies, you can grow other exciting plants such as cattails, double flowering arrow, umbrella plant, water morning glory and water poppy. If your local greenhouse doesn’t carry these things, try your local pet store or order from specialized dealers.

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