I won 20 hyacinth plants from this seller, and they came today. She sent 26. If anyone wants some, she has GREAT plants!!! I won mine for .99 with $10 for priority shipping. I'm extremely tickled with the quality and size of the plants. Check it out, she only has 2 auctions going right now, but keep your eyes peeled for more...

http://cgi.ebay.com/20-WATER-HYACINTH-PLAN...1QQcmdZViewItem

I wish I had a koi pond. I love them. I live in Florida and there are not too many shady areas in my backyard, so I don't think I'll ever get one.

Either way, such a beautiful plant. Post some pics when the bloom.

Nice Erika!!

Monkeygirl, certainly you could use a little sun for a pond to get the plants to grow, which do eat up the nitrates and keep the pond cycle going good. BUT you can have a pond in the shade so don't let that shade thing hinder you. In fact in Idaho Water Hycinths grow much better in the shade rather than full sun. Water Lettuce also like the shade. There are other pond plants that do well in the shade. The only pond plant that doesn't do so well in the shade (that I've noticed) is water lilies. They'll grow, just not very fast and in Idaho that isn't good because we don't have as long a growing season as you'd have in Florida. So if you really want a pond I say go for it.

Scott

Thanks, Scott. I'll look into it then. I was just afraid a pond would heat up too much in the Florida sun.

Well, that auction is over, I wonder if it was someone from here? She has another bunch listed though.

Oh I miss understood you. I read it as stating it was too shady where you are, now that I re-read it you said it's not shady. Ranchu who posts on here lives in Florida. In fact if you've ever been to koiphen.com the guy that runs that site lives in Florida. Certainly a smaller pond will heat up quicker than larger but if you put in water lilies which will grow fast and huge in Florida you'll have lots of shade in your pond. Plus you can grow lotus easily there and they have huge leaves and are expecially beautiful. I think if you put in a pond it'll be beautiful and you'll be very happy you did it.

Scott

Yeah, seriously....putting that pond in was a good move on our part.... I'm obsessed with it.

Well now we want to see the pond with these new plants.

Do we get to see pics of them in your pond Erika!?

Mine are in full sun. Would that be why they arent doing so good.. they are going yellow and some parts and drooping in the water and rotting..?

Oh you guys, making me work all the time. (Sigh) I'mma go outside and grab a cancer stick here in a minute.... I'll snap a pic.

Okay, here we go............



And some of the brats...................

Some of the plants have lost a bit of color..... I hope it's because they're new to the pond and they'll snap back!!!

Nice going, Erika - looks cool! Now wait until they are all flowering, and you just love them even more!
I looked at her auctions, but unfortunately she doesn't ship to FL. Too bad - some sellers just don't know, and ship anyway. I wish I could get some more of those from somewhere, I had some once, but I can't remember where I go them from. It was in SoFla somewhere.

They do much better in Florida in the shade than the sun. Mine turned yellow a bit in the sun, so I moved them. Of course, when I put them in with my koi, it didn't take much for them to completely eat the roots, and the plants all went dead!

Those look great!! Here in the Valley, it gets too hot for them to be in full sunlight. We used to have some in our pond and they would always die.

Last summer I grew some in rubbermaid tubs on my back patio, where they only got morning sunlight, and they did great.

They sure do multiply fast! I guess thats why they're illegal here in CA; they're an environmental threat.

Hey Andrea, if mine end up being ok, I'll ship some to ya!

I just got some liquid fertilizer for them and some pellet fertilizer tabs for my lizard's tail and lilly. The liquid fertilizer only has potassium and iron in it though.... is that sufficient?

Erika, I never bothered fertilizing mine - enough fish waste in the pond to do that for me. Except for my water lilies, none of the plants in my ponds ever get fertlized. Heck, I bought the darf papyrus in the hopes it would stay small, and those things are at least 6-7 ft high now!

You have to get on the band wagon miss Andrea,and post up some pics of everyone,and your plants.
I love looking at them as you have yourself a complete zoo,and I find it amazing that you have the time/the room/and the money!

YEah Andrea, I haven't seen any of your pond pics in a long time!!! Oh, and if the hyacinth snaps out of it, I'll bring you a couple to the show, how's that sound?

I had to try the fertilizer...... the hyacinth has me a bit concerned so I got the liquid. The pellets I got cuz my lilly has suddenly decided to be boring, and hasn't put anything up for about 2 weeks......... is that normal? I pulled it up, and it's alive, but yeah, slowed down or something. Then I had to give the lizard's tail some fertilizer cuz well, I didn't want it to get jealous. Nah, I just want to see if I can get that thing nice and big this year since I know it's going to have to come inside with me once it gets cold.

Anyone have a good tip for keeping the fish from eating the hyacinth roots? They seem to think that it's a flipping filet mignon and lobster tail dinner.

You girls want pond pictures? Oh, geez, now I have to make a trip into the heat!

Erika, my lilies have slowed down too, no bloom for at least 10 days now. Maybe its time for repotting mine, they are growing way out of their containers, or stick a fertilizer tab in the soil.

Yeah, I gave it a tab......it's not growing too big for its pot or anything. I did notice it has some weird "roots" that look like lilly pad stems. They're firmly attached in the substrate. Here's a question..... what in the world is that hard black thing? It's so strange.

That "hard black thing" is their growth, from which the leaves and blooms come from. One on my lilies has grown about 5 inches since spring, and hangs about 4 inches out of my pot. I would assume that when that growth gets roots attached to it, that you can separate it after the growing season and repot it as a separate plant, but I am not 100% sure of it. I will leave mine along til fall and have a closeup look at it then.

Gosh, I barely was able to post this and keep a straight face!

Oh? And why is THAT?!

So the "hard black thing" is like the growing factory of the plant? it's so weird, it's like WOOD.