Koi-proofing water lilies

0 Kudo

Author	Comment
Honey	Koi-proofing water lilies		Lead	[-]
Posts: 65 05/01/09 18:41:52	Tags : None I got my new waterlilies in. Then I had to put on my thinking cap to come up with a fool-proof plan to keep the koi from uprooting the new plants. So I got the pots, lined them with black plastic bags, filled them with the soil, planted the lily, placed large river rock on top...then I took some black nylon netting and cut it into circles that fit over the top of the pots. I cut a small slit in the middle, fed the leaves up thru that and then tied a black cord around, holding the net to the top of the planter. Sunk those puppies and sure enough, it worked. The koi couldn't get to the soil thru the net, so they lost interest in them. Once the pots "season" I'll be able to remove the netting and that should be that. I got a giant white (blooms get about 8 inches across), a bright yellow, a light green and then a tropical Red Flare. I found a place in Texas that sells water lilies at a wonderful price. I got all my new babies for about 40 bucks and that's a steal deal, I can assure you. And then we have been covered up with toads. I counted over 100 in the big pond and about 50 in the little pond! I have pics, but haven't got my photobucket up yet. Hopefully I can get that done soon. I'm just so excited about my new waterlilies. Around here, the tropicals go for about 50 bucks, so I was overjoyed to get one for about 10. My new lilies aren't really large...yet....and they were sent bare-rooted...but that's ok, as fast as they grow. OK...I'm off here to see about the photobucket thing. Honey
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote
Franklin Eddy		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 294 05/02/09 05:15:43	That sounds good, but Koi are very smart and resourceful. Lets give it a while and see if it works. LOL
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote
Honey		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 65 05/02/09 08:14:07	OK. Went out this morning and the water lilies are fine...so far. So I'm hoping my great plan worked. And you're right, FranklinEddy...Koi are very resourceful. But right now they are spawning so are leaving the lilies alone. I'm just saying, they would have to get their fins up there and untie the cord in order to get to that dirt in the lilies! If they do that, then I'm gonna take them on a tour to show how smart they are! Honey
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote
Franklin Eddy		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 294 05/02/09 10:40:48	Honey, I am putting my money on the Koi. LOL
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote
lorirfrommontana		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 89 05/02/09 13:31:37	Very resoursful Honey! I've given up on nice lillies in the koi pond! In the past they have ganged up and moved large rocks off of the pots to get to the lilly roots! My neighbors probebly thought that I was crazy standing out in the back yard yelling, "Bad fish, you are very very bad fish!". I now just have the lillies bare root under very very large rocks in the more shallow part of the pond. It worked last year. They to get the leaves as they come up but there are too many plants for them to get them all!! My lillies are all the cheap ones from lowes though. Nothing extra special like what you got. I hope your plan works! Lori
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote
Franklin Eddy		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 294 05/03/09 05:12:30	Honey, if the other things you have tried don't work, here is another suggestion. Cover the soil in the waterlily pots with small lava rock instead of stone. Koi like to pick up the smooth gravel or stone in their mouths and then spit it out on the floor of the pond. Soon only the soil remains and the Koi start digging in it. The lava rock has sharp edges and Koi don't like to take it in their mouths. Koi leave the waterlilies alone after they have been in the pots for a while, but are really destructive to new plantings. Of course, the real solution is to have a separate pond for waterlilies. I remember asking John Mirgon once (years ago) why he didn't get some Koi for his ponds since he only had goldfish? (John lived in Denver Colorado and was a leader in the waterlily societies and the Denver Botanical Gardens. Both he and his wife were pioneers in ponding back in the good old days. Their whole back yard was full of waterlily ponds and they had about ever type available.) John said he would never put Koi in with his waterlilies. He said they were the most destructive fish that you could ever introduce to the pond. Of course John was not absolutely correct. You can keep Koi and waterlilies together, but it is not easy.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote
Franklin Eddy		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 294 05/03/09 05:18:16	Here is a link to John and Mary Mirgon of Denver. They were both very interesting people and knew more about waterlilies than anyone else I ever met. Mirgons
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote
Franklin Eddy		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 294 05/03/09 05:24:41	An interesting thing about the Mirgon's ponds was that they grew lawn right up to the edge of the pond. So it looked really natural. John said that the lawn pulled water out of the ponds though and the edge of the ponds stayed wet. I don't think I have ever seen anyone else do that.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote
Honey		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 65 05/03/09 11:22:12	Another day has past and the water lilies are still in their pots! Holding my breath. I plan to put some lava rock, like you suggested, FranklinEddy...just in case those bugger Koi prove me wrong. We have had our Koi for about 10 years and always had waterlilies in with them. I don't know why. But I did read that some koi behave themselves and some do not. And I had a laugh about your post about standing out and yelling at your Koi! So I'm going to go now and download some more pics into my photobucket and then to here! I'm just so happy I finally got everything figured out. Honey
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote
DaaveBear		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 92 05/08/09 12:25:39	ok....this is a "bear suggestion".......has anyone tried using one of those plastic milk crates as a "cover" placed over the lilly containter?.....a mile crate larger than the lilly containter....you could fit it securly over the lilly pot.....the holes are big enough that it would allow the lilly grow up and through the slotted and hole areas....yet keep those koi baby's at bay?....seems the biggest issue is the koi like to bite and nibble away (read ATTACK!) the potted lilly.....if they cant get to the actual plant would they bother the lilly as it grows topside?......just a thought...... Bear (aka loveable ponder with goldfish yet sadly no lilly's) ha ha
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote
troy.gethelp	Koi-proofing water lilies	#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6 06/07/09 18:49:16	Bear...I haven't been around for a while, seems the subscribes don't work for me. Last year and years before I've had really nice Lilly's by placing large rocks on the planters which set in a milk crate. Last fall they uprooted every on (14). Early this spring I re potted what I had salvaged and some new ones. I put them in crates like always, then I cut the bottom out of a crate and zip tied it to the top, I left about 3 inches space between the gravels on the top and the new grill on top. So far I've seen three small leafs, they soon disappeared. I guess they graze the new ones off as soon as they come up through the crate. I tried a set up like Honey used and they sucked the soil right through it.They Can root out bigger rock than a mans fist. Of course I have way to many very large Koi. Honey I hope yours make it. If not, try some crates. Does any one know how to make the subscribe feature work? Mine don't seem to want to cooperate. Last Edited By: troy 07/30/09 19:23:58. Edited 1 time.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts	Reply Quote

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Add Reply

Yuku free message boards

Koi-proofing water lilies

Koi-proofing water lilies

Quick Reply