There are some essential tasks to take care of during the summer while enjoying your pond. Water plants can outgrow their containers during the warm summer months. If your waterlilies are covering too much pond surface, simply prune outer leaves of the lily down to half their spread. You will want to remove dead lily pads and spent flowers. These not only create an unsightly appearance but decaying matter will create other problems in your pond.
If your submerged plants have grown to the surface of the pond, you will want to cut them back so the plants are 6 to 10 inches below the water surface. Anacharis and hornwort can be netted out, cutting back from the bottom of the plant as the top of the plant is the growing portion. Attach a new lead weight and simply toss them back into the pond or repot in pots of pea gravel.
Marginal plants, bog plants and floating plants can all be trimmed of old, brown growth. Don’t be afraid to trim back or discard part of any plant that might be taking over your pond. You need to have an area of pond surface open to sunlight for oxygen exchange.
Water plants will grow quickly during the warm weather. Fertilize them with Highland Rim Aquatic Fertilizer Tablets every few weeks, instead of monthly, to encourage them to grow and bloom, putting on a fantastic show.
If some of your water plants require more than a trim, there is still time before fall to divide them. Fall is too late to divide some plants, especially if you live in a cooler climate. They need time and warmth to grow a new root system, before going dormant for the winter.
Now, I’m going out to practice what I preach! As you can see from the photo, I have a few hours of work to do! My lilies and submerged plants are covering most of the surface area in my pond. I will post a new picture, once I have things back under control.
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July 21st, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Talking about plants outgrowing their containers, my lilies have roots growing up the stems! Can you divide lilies? Should I just put them in a larger container? I want to keep as much of the surface covered that I currently have due to the extreme TX heat. What is your suggestion?
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Yes, its best to divide lilies when they start growing out of their containers. I would divide the lily. You can put them in larger pots if you like or plant each in at least 2 gallon containers. We have an article on our blog under Caring for Your Pond Plants titled Dividing & Planting Hardy Water Lilies. It tells you how to divide them and replant them and also gives you pictures. The best time to divide them is in the spring unless you have a mild winter then you could divide them when your weather gets cooler. If you do it now you wouldn’t get the surface coverage as you have now until they start growing again.