Planting along the pond ledges.

[Ann Ewt]

Hello,

This is is another in the series of my very basic pond questions so please bear with me . . .

We have just lined a concrete pond and are ready to plant the ledges with pond plants. (wildlife pond)

We bought the plants last year and they came with small black fabric bags which we filled with aquatic soil and temporarily put in our leaky concrete pond.

My questions are:

-Do we need to put aquatic soil in the ledges themselves or will leaves and debris eventually make a base for the roots to grow into ?

-Do the bags eventually split to allow the roots out.

-If a plant has the instructions to plant 10cm deep for example, is that from the lip of the bag or from the top of the plant ( some of the plants are tiny, some are tall.).

-Finally, a lot of the plants look dead, is this possibly just the winter dormant phase; the water lilly in particular looks dead; do I plant it deep and wait for it to make its way to the surface or shallow and adjust when it it grows.


Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me with these questions.

Ann

[King Edward]

I think you'll be OK without soil on the ledges, since as you say you'll get accumulated dead leaves etc. building up in time. If I was going to put anything I'd put a think layer of suitable sand (sharp/play, not builders) rather than soil. Sooner or later I'm sure the plants will find their own way out of the bags whatever you do.

Planting depth is from the base of the plant, not the top of the leaves.

Water plants should mostly be growing now - our lilies here have new leaves growing towards the surface. So if it looks dead, with no signs of life, it probably is. Try cutting the rhizome a bit to see if it looks firm and healthy inside.

[Ann Ewt]

Hello Edward,

Thank you for your help.

King Regards

Ann Ewt

[Red Robin]

Originally Posted by Ann Ewt

Hello,

This is is another in the series of my very basic pond questions so please bear with me . . .

....Keep asking! The fact is that other folks are also able to learn and have their questions answered by discussion in such threads. It also creates a reference resource.

Btw, your pond and its environs is shaping up well.