Our Care Advice
An Introduction to Water Gardening:
The charm and fascination of a lily pool has a particularly special appeal, and no gardening scheme is quite complete without provision for this essential feature.
The Water Lily, with its exquisite flowers and attractive foliage, should be given pride of place in any water garden. Marginal and aquatic plants provide the additional variety that invests the pool with so much interest throughout the year.
Waterlilies have a strange, exotic character, which leads to many enquiries as to whether protection should be provided during severe weather. The simple answer is that all the varieties of lily available on our website are perfectly hardy and require no protective measures whatsoever during the winter!
Water plants are not especially difficult to cultivate and we trust that the information given both here on this website and enclosed with all the orders we send out should be sufficient to help you create a beautiful, thriving water garden.
If you are new to water gardening, you may not yet be fully acquainted with the appropriate quota and variety of plants needed to ensure an attractive and well-balanced pool. To help you with this, we offer a variety of starter packs and plant collections to help you create the perfect balance.
What’s the best way to construct my pond?
With the advent of Pool Liners and the ease and rapidity with which these can be installed. In our opinion, the best material for the purpose is butyl sheeting – this is used exclusively in the construction of our own numerous pools, large and small.
Butyl is a synthetic rubber sheeting – as such it is flexible and possesses an elasticity that makes it very easy to install and mould into any shape required. Most important of all, it is impervious to weather conditions. It will not crack or become brittle with age, so it remains leak-proof and durable over exceptionally long periods of years.
As proof of butyl’s reliability, we have used it extensively ourselves for over 55 years and it carries a Lifetime Guarantee.
How should I plant and care for my water lilies and aquatic plants?
Water lilies are not difficult to grow. They are quite happy either planted in soil on the bottom of the pool or in suitable containers filled with heavy loam, well firmed down to prevent the plant rising out of the soil when the pool is filled with water.
Marginal and Oxygenating plants should be planted in containers and placed in the pool at the appropriate depth (specified on the label of each plant). When planting is completed the surface of all containers should be covered with small stones or shingle.
The depth recommended for each variety is by no means obligatory – even the strongest-growing varieties will do quite well in no more than a foot of water. However, it is not advisable to exceed the maximum depth given. Large specimen plants are available in many varieties at the nursery for planting large ponds and lakes.
Your plants should be allowed to establish themselves for 2-3 weeks before any fish are introduced to the pool.
Why has my water become discoloured? What should I do?
Many people are distressed when the water in their newly established pool takes on a murky appearance. Don’t worry – this is a natural process set up by minute organisms responding to the influence of sunlight and it will clear up by itself. The water will gradually clear in relation to the rate of growth of sufficiency of underwater and surface-covering plants. To help this process you could add Barley Straw.
If the water in your new pond goes murky, DO NOT change the water as this will just start the process all over again. However, there is of course no harm topping up the pool after loss by evaporation.
How can I get rid of algae and blanket weed?
This consists of tangled masses of silken green strands, which sometimes invade a pool and appear unsightly.
This can be controlled by pulling it out or a rake or stick for twirling out the weed. This would need to be done daily in the summer. A better way is CLARITY which changes the water chemistry naturally.
Fish also break it up and devour it to a certain extent, as would large quantities of snails
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you had excess plants in your pool that you wish to get rid of, it is vital that these are NOT discarded into rivers or natural lakes, since some species could become invasive and upset the natural balance.
If you have any other concerns or queries about how best to care for and cultivate your water garden, please don’t hesitate to contact us for friendly, expert advice!