WATER GARDEN PLANTS

Although most people probably do not care for a pond full of green water, water plants see it differently. That bright green means that pea-soup algae is busy munching away at the nitrogen in the water, and the water plants will not waste any time joining in the banquet. They may have to work hard to convert the nitrogen, though. Studies appear to show that water plants need more energy to convert nitrogen directly from the water than they do to use nitrogen found in the soil. Some exceptional plants have adapted to taking nitrogen directly from the water. Floating water plants such as water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) are adept at absorbing nitrogen as their roots dangle in the water. Submerged water plants absorb nitrogen directly through their leaves as well as their roots. Letting the pond water turn green is not the best way to promote healthy water plant growth. Algae acts much like weeds in a garden. It ties up the nutrients and shades the pond, and the shade can kill submerged plants.
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Granular

Fertilizer in granular form has the consistency of sugar. In chemical terms, granulated fertilizer is made up of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potash in salt form.These salts are mixed with a carrier so that they form little tiny pearls. The carrier is an inert ingredient that holds the fertilizer until it is released for the plants’ use. Gypsum is the most common carrier but clay is also used.
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Liquid

Fertilizers that are already in liquid form are a big boon for gardeners who grow houseplants. Just add a teaspoon to a gallon of water and use it to water all the plants in the house. Liquid fertilizers can be a big problem for water gardeners. The liquid can quickly leach into the pond, feeding an algae bloom instead of a waterlily bloom.After all, algae is a plant, too, and it appreciates a fertilizer boost just as much as the water plants.Using a liquid fertilizer in the pond to feed only the plants and not the algae is virtually impossible. For container ponds, however, where plants like papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) or lotus are the only inhabitants of a crock or tub, liquid fertilizer is great.
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Whatever the kind of fertilizer,make sure to check the label. Pay attention to the ratio of N, P, and K that it contains. Whether a fertilizer is for perennials or specially designed for water plants, using a lower ratio, such as 6-6-6, more often is always better than using a higher ratio, such as 20-20-20, less often. A higher ratio can burn a plant’s roots, causing it more harm than good. A fertilizer that has a roughly equivalent ratio of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium is usually best for feeding plants from spring through fall.
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Potassium

The third ingredient listed on a box of fertilizer is K, which stands for potassium and is found in potash. It is the allaround food necessary for plant fitness and strength. It is the “Special K”—the stuff that makes a plant body strong. Plants use potassium to develop roots, store energy, and build cells.
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Like vitamins for humans, fertilizer provides the necessary building blocks for plants to live and grow. Fertilizer works by manipulating three basic ingredients—nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K)—the three numbers that appear on all fertilizer packages. Depending on the amounts of each of these ingredients, fertilizers can cause plants to grow more leaves, set more fruit, or produce more flowers.
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Like a bowl of ice cream at a sundae bar, water plants need a topping over their soil.Toppings help prevent fish from digging the soil out of the pot, and they reduce the amount of weeds that can grow in the soil. And, a pot of soil dressed with a topping looks prettier, turning a ho-hum “swamp weed” into a water garden knockout.

Pea gravel, sand, and stones are used to top off the soil, with pea gravel generally being the most popular. Sand is the nicest to use on oxygenating, or submerged, plants and tropical lilies because it is softer and lessens the possibility of damaging the crown of the plant. Toppings should be dark colored, making the plants look greener. Light colors will make the plants look more yellow. Larger stones are generally used where large koi or goldfish live in the pond, because they are so adept at sucking smaller ones out of the pot. Some water gardeners have even used slabs of black slate to keep lilies in their containers. Read all article »

Cocoa fiber is a potting medium that some manufacturers have been touting of late. It looks like brown strands of straw that have been woven together. Filtration plants love to be potted in cocoa fiber. The material acts like pea gravel because it allows water to flow over the plants’ roots. Fertilizing with tablets is unnecessary, since the fertilizer would simply dissolve directly into the water long before the plant could absorb it.
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Cat Litter

Cat litter is one material that was never intended for water plants, yet it works well as a potting medium. The right kind of cat litter says “calcified clay” on the label, not shredded paper or something else. It is the generic form that has not been chemically treated or deodorized, which could harm the pond. Calcified clay has been mined from the earth, cleaned, baked, and pulverized. Cat litter has about the same good nutrient and moisture- retention qualities as clay soil. It is heavy but is not dirty like clay soil. It does not float (although you would think it would) and it does not clump together into a brick once it gets wet (although you would think it would do that, too). It can have some dust to it when it comes out of the bag, but do not rinse it off before use as it will dissolve. If it spills into the pond, it is not as dirty looking as clay soil, since it is usually tan or gray instead of black.And transplanting from cat litter is just as easy as it is from clay soil or sand.
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Potting Soil

Then, soils are available in bags under the labels “potting soil” and “garden soil.” Neither is suitable for water plants. They usually contain a high degree of organic matter, such as peat moss and manure. These are wonderful for geraniums and rose bushes, but they can be harmful, even deadly, for water plants. Organic matter starts to rot and decay once it gets wet. Put it under water and it breaks down very quickly. As the organic material decomposes, it releases salts and other chemicals that can burn the plant’s roots. In severe cases, this can cause the water plant’s total demise. As if this were not bad enough, bagged soil often contains vermiculite and perlite, which float right to the water surface once they enter the pond! They are unsightly and a dickens to try to skim out of the pond. If you are shopping for potting soil for water plants, keep walking right past those bags of commercial soil mixes. They are intended strictly for plants in the rest of the yard, not in the pond.
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