Poorly water lilies

BirdBrian · #1 (**permalink**) 15-06-2009, 06:02 PM

Hi

I've got a bit of a problem with my water lilies in my new pond. They've been in for about 2 weeks now, and the leaves seem to be starting to turn yellow. I got them from a reputable source (Naturescape) and have planted them up with hessian, aquatic compost etc and they're in about 2 1/2 foot of water.

For other plants, yellowing would normally indicate an absence of something like nitrogen or magnesium, however I don;t know if the same biochemistry applies for water-based plants like water lilies.

Anybody got any ideas? I've spent 1/2 hr trying to upload fotos but they don't seem to be appearing on either the Gallery or the image library doobery, so I'll email over if you want a shufty....

thanks

bobbarber · #2 (**permalink**) 17-06-2009, 12:52 AM

Hello BirdBrian, just a suggestion but have you tried feeding them? You can get water lily fertiliser in perforated sachets that are pushed into the soil of the pot. I have also read that you can make your own by mixing a handful of coarse bone meal with enough wet clay to bind it and then roll into `pills` and push into soil. Neither system will pollute the water. Hope this may help. Welcome to the forum...Bob

BirdBrian · #3 (**permalink**) 17-06-2009, 07:47 AM

It had occurred to me that they perhaps needed feeding - I didn't know though that you could get specific tablets etc for this purpose (although thinking about it, it makes sense I suppose)

I pulled them up yesterday to move the soil away from the crowns and they're definitely putting on new growth, so I still think it's a nutrient deficiency. I'll get some of these tablets later today and see how they go - thanks for the advice!!

BirdBrian

ilia123 · #4 (**permalink**) 18-06-2009, 06:01 PM

Is it a hardy? Or an exotic waterlilly?

I would give them a thorough wash in some rain water (incase there are insects on it, or some kind of chemical), cut off anything that looks yellow/brown/dead, then replant them (horizontally) in aquatic compost, and add a fertiliser tablet (which you can buy from ebay). Waterlillys are quite nutrient hungry when compared to other plants so you won't really find many in ponds in the wild ...