Yellowing plants

[Blackdogjnr]

Hi there!

Another newbie with another new pond! (there must be loads of us!)

It has been a month or two since I dug my wildlife pond, I allowed the water to settle for weeks and checked the balance etc and am sure it is friendly (in fact I know it is as I have larvae)

However, my oxygenating weeds and lillies are turning yellow and appear to be dying.

The water is still a little murky (as I needed to top up the banks with soil/compost as they were a little too steep) so I am wondering if this is a problem I should worry about or do you guys think it is simply a matter of the plants not getting enough sunlight?

Thanks in advance

[oliviamaryb]

The books (I have read many on the subject!) say that all ponds take a while to get balanced. The oxygenators will prety much stand anything. If you have a look at them in about a month, no matter what state they're in, I bet they'll have some new growth.
Is`your pond shaded?

[djackso]

Yes, balance takes time.

You may find what wrong for one plant is right for another.

pH will be important, as well as nutrient balance and physical factors such as sunlight, temperature, currents etc.

There will be plants that thrive now, and in a year or two, different plants may be better suited.

If you have a friend with a pond, would they donate a few other species for you to try?

Water soldier and water starwort have suvived through thick and thin in my pond.

[Blackdogjnr]

Thanks very much for the advice guys.
There is a tree nearby providing dappled shade but not too much.
This weekend I noticed the water is getting clearer.

I have a water soldier and indeed it does look very healthy and yesterday I even saw a frog having a swim around in the depths... so I guess I'll wait and like you say let it 'settle down'.

Just thought I'd check, it'd be horrible to spend so much time and money on something like this for it to just completely fail!

[Jez]

Originally Posted by Blackdogjnr

Hi there!

Another newbie with another new pond! (there must be loads of us!)

& hopefully, plenty more will do the same!