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TROUBLE SHOOTING POND PLANTS |
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| Yellow
Leaves caused by - Lack of Fertilizer |
Be sure to fertilize your plants once a month, using a
pond tablet fertilizer made specifically for pond plant. For potted plants take
a stick and poke it down in the soil and push the tablet down in the hole.
Carefully firm the soil back over the hole. The tablets should be placed near
the outside of the rim of the pot, not near the crown (the center) of the plant.
For floating plants, remove them from the pond and place them in suitable
container that will hold water. Add your favorite water-soluble fertilizer
according to their directions. Do not add more than the recommended amount.
Twice the amount is not better. Too much fertilizer can cause plants to turn
yellow too.
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| Yellow
Leaves caused by - Insects |
Inspect your ponds plants just like do your other plants. Pond plants are not
immune to insects, especially in the winter if you bring them in the house.
Spider mites love the dry winter environment our winter homes have. Any
insecticide that you can use of houseplants is safe to use on water plants
inside the home. Some are quite smelly and I recommend that you take the plant
outside or the garage to spray them. Aphids are some times problems in the
house, but mites are more prevalent
Aphids are usually the main insects to attack our pond plants. Depending on the plant, you may be able to swish them off in the water where they will become
fish food. Floating plants like hyacinths, water lettuce and lily pads and their
flowers are good candidates for swishing. When you do water changes or add water
to your pond to replace for evaporation, spray the water on the plants. This
will wash the insects off onto the ground or into the water. I try to do this
weekly to prevent problems before they occur. Should a major insect attack
occur, remove the plants from and away from the pond to prevent drifting spray
from settling in the pond.
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| Sevin |
Sevin is a good insecticide for pond plants. If the plant is
going to be out of the for an extended period of time, set the pot in a bucket of water. Then there is
no need to feel that you need to "rush" the task. After the insecticide
has dried take the hose to the plant and gently spray the plant with water. Be sure to get the
undersides of the leaves, as this is where they like to "hide." This
action alone will get any crawlies that you missed to disappear.
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Malathion |
Malathion can be sprayed right in the pond and it is not harmful to
the fish either. As a matter of fact Malathion can be used in the pond to
kill Flukes. Make sure that the total Malathion used does not exceed more
than 2 cc per 1,000 gallons of pond volume. In other words if your pond is
1,000 gallons you can use up to 2 cc of Malathion in a hose end sprayer or
tank type sprayer to kill pond plant parasites. If your pond is only 500
gallons of water you would be able to use only 1 cc of Malathion.
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| Yellow
Leaves caused by - Too Much Sun |
| Plants can sun burn just like we do. A sun burned plant will have a bleached
look or brownish cast to the leaves, sometimes they will yellow. When moving
pond plants outside, after having spent the winter inside, you must do this
gradually. Move them first to a shady spot. Set the pot in a larger container
that will hold water. The little kiddy pools that are about 6 " deep work
perfect if you have a lot of plants. Set that up in a shady part of your yard
and keep the pool filled with water. Gradually over a 2 -week period expose the
plants to more sunlight. Do this in the spring when the weather begins to warm
so that they are also getting used to cooler nighttime temperatures. This whole
process is called hardening off. It essentially means adjusting to different
light and temperature levels. Keep in mind that the brightest window in your
home will not have as much sun as the shadiest part of your yard. Research foot-candles
if you need more information on this subject.
Leaves that are under water may also turn yellow or brown.
Check this site to determine that the plant is set in the water at the proper
depth. It is okay if the stems are under water, but you do not want the actual
leaves beneath the water surface or they may turn yellow or brown.
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| Failure to Prosper
- Dirty Pond |
Plants (just like fish) do not like dirty ponds. If the water is dirty looking
or has a lot of suspended non-algae material in the water, it can interfere with
the light and nutrients up take of the roots. Plants love clean water just as
much as fish love it. My 15,000-gallon pond is so clean I can see the face
of a quarter on the bottom of the pond. Do a 20 to 25% water change once a
week preferably by siphoning off the bottom of the pond. The plants and fish
will love you for it!
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| Failure to Prosper
- Pot-Bound Plants |
If you notice that the leaves are smaller than normal or there are no flowers
(particularly on the lilies), it may very well mean that the plant is pot bound:
not enough soil in relationship the amount of soil in the pot. Lilies should be
unpotted and divided once a year in very early spring (usually March) or moved
to a larger pot each spring. Failure to do this chore will result in
smaller leaves and few or no flowers. Other pond plants should also be divided
or moved to a larger pot once new growth is evident in the spring.
Quite frequently I have to remove pots from my pond and check the root system
during the mid summer months because they can become overcrowded with roots.
If you see roots growing on top of the pot our out of the drainage holes; it is
time to divide the plant. I have had plastic pots actually crack as the roots
busted out of the pot. If plants are growing out of the drainage hole, divide
the plant as soon as possible. Most pond plants are in 1-gallon pots and fit
nicely on shelves; few ponds can accommodate larger pots, therefore I prefer to
use the 1-gallon size. I divide them in half or sometimes in thirds or quarters.
It is easier to do this chore if you remove the plant from the pot and use a
hard stream of water over the roots to remove the soil and expose the root
system. This way you can see what you're doing. Pull the plant apart into
sections, making sure each section has a fair share of roots. You may have to
literally use a large knife or a saw and saw through the root system. Iris takes
a lot of muscle to divide and I keep a saw handy for that reason.
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| Failure to
Prosper |
Keep those plants clean.
Remove old leaves and spent flower blooms just like you do in your flower beds,
the advantage of ponds is that there are no weeds to pull like you have to in
the garden! Spend a few minutes once a week trimming the older yellow or brown
leaves. My fish usually come up and give me "fish kisses" while
I am doing this chore. I think of it as their way of saying thanks for keeping
their home clean. The fish do not mind me in their water at all.
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| Algae |
“My pond is green”. This is the most common complaint that I hear.
I know customers think, "she is just trying to sell me more plants."
If I had a dollar for each customer who followed my advice and added more plants, I'd
probably be rich.
I had one lady, who bought 10 water hyacinths. Her husband was furious that she did not buy the chemicals he sent her to buy. She came back
5 days later, to tell me how clear her pond was! She was ecstatic because she
could now see her fish.
I don't use chemicals expect as a very last resort. Even on my garden plants.
I like to work with "Mother Nature" and chemicals are not natural. I met a guy from a Koi club who wanted me to come see his fish. What a
disappointment the water was so green all I could see was mouths when he threw
food in for them to bring them to the surface! The water was thick green pea
soup and you could not see more than an inch or two into the depths. I did not
see how beautiful his fish really were. Sure you can have healthy plants in
green water but if you can't see them swimming around and doing their antics,
what is the sense?
I want to be able to see my fish and to show them off. I love the "oohs" and
"ahs" when customers look into my pond.
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