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A Lily Pad
Question
Answered
by Pamela J. Stephens Schlett
A question from a member:
Well I must tell you, my pond is in and done. I just love my
water fall, it is sooo relaxing to sit out there and be relaxed
by the sound. I have a few questions about my aquatic plants. Do
the lily pad leaves turn yellow normally? I have had maybe 4
leaves turn and die with some black spots, I don't see anything
eating them. Also the buds from my lily pad flowers, sometimes
they don't mature all the way and open, but rather the stem
curls and they turn down into the water and rot. One more, I
found an odd something, adhering to my pickerel rush leaf.
Perhaps something laid eggs, it is about 2 inches long, about
the side of a little finger around, maybe smaller, and all full
of little bumps, beige colored????
Have you ever put tadpoles in your pond, any suggestions?
Anne Pierce
I HOPE THIS ANSWERS THE LILY PAD QUESTIONS.
The leaves on a water lily will turn yellow and brown and
eventually die off and get mushy, as part of the normal life
cycle. But you should always see one or two new leaves for every
leaf that dies off naturally. The black spots however, are not
normal. Do you have water splashing on the leaves? Water
droplets will magnify the sun and burn the leaves with little
round holes.
Another possibility is that the plant is suffering a form of
root rot. How deep is the top of the pot below the water
surface? The flower buds dying off may be from the same reason
as the leaves. So water depth is very important. Lilies need at
least 10-18" of water over the top of their roots (or the top of
the pot). If you pull out the plant and feel the roots, they
should be firm like a potato, not mushy. If the roots are firm
and the water level is correct, I would look at any products you
are putting in the pond. Some algae formulas will adversely
effect the good plants too.
Last I would look at nourishment, maybe you are under or over
fertilizing the plant. Lilies are very heavy feeders and do best
with monthly fertilizing (with an aquatic plant fertilizer
tablet). It could also be a combination of factors such as
parasites, rot and water quality. Water lilies do not like high
pH, (over 9.0 makes some varieties go dormant).
The mass you spoke of is probably snail eggs. Depending on the
type of snail, you may not want to keep the mass. Tropical
snails can cause some of the damage to the leaves you wrote
about. Frogs lay clusters of eggs in long strings that form a
mass. Fish lay individual eggs that group and from a cluster. If
the substance looks like clear jelly, it is probably snails.
Hope I helped.
Pamela J. Stephens Schlett
General Manager, Co-Owner
Stephens Garden Creations, Inc.
(Reprinted from the November 2004 DVWGS
Newsletter)
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