I wonder why he said to use clay. Wouldn't it better to use the pond pots with openings so that the water can flow through and prevent the soil from getting all stinky? Fabric plant pots sounds like the really best idea, and they wouldn't be very visible, especially after some algae grows on them

I use home made fabric pots. It is black landscape fabric and is more invisible than the black plastic pots. Water flows through them and roots stay in the pots. Glenda

I, too, don't know why he said to use clay pots. Black plastic pots are much better hidden in the water.
I use black milk crates to elevate the black pots on.
I would say the vast majority of us don't use clay pots.

He probably just wanted to sell some clay pots! I use black plastic also. the best pots I ever got.....dollar store dishpans. They were black!! I cannot imagine why someone would want a black dishpan, but they had a stack of them so I bought them all.

lizm,
I've been to hicks many times. Gorgeous varieties and many, many plants. I've found most of the help very friendly but not any more knowlegable than some box store staff! One of the ladies there last year told me that canna are hardy to zone 5???? Now, that is a sweeping statement and some of the staff were in deed in the know. Did you buy your pots at hicks?
My pond here is only in its second year, but all my plants are either in black or green plastic pots, I put some pea gravel on top to keep the goldies out of the soil but they do well and none have been knocked over. Can't imagine why he told you clay.

By the way, I go to hicks everychance I get when on LI visiting friends. They really do have some great stuff there.

Just to confirm - he knew that the pots were going to be submerged in your pond, right? If so, he's wrong. Clay isn't better. If it were me, I would speak to someone at Hick's about that. There's no reason for misinformation, especially when profit is involved....from a reputable company, even. Sheesh...

Brenda

I used to use clay pots for all my above-ground plants, but soon discovered that they just dry out way too quickly. So its all plastic for me in that area too!

Just a thought, but if you have your pot rims at the surface, can you cover them over with peat moss (or regular moss) and have the moss overlap the rim of the pots? Make them look like little islands?

Like glad2garden mentioned, clay pots get stinky. I noticied a stinky odor coming from one of my potted clay pots I recently added to my pond. I plan on taking it out and using a black plant basket. The clay pots don't get enough circulation, IMO.

What brand of soil do you all use for planting? Are you using Miracle Gro or do you make your own mix?

As for soil, he sold me some aquatic plant medium which is gray and looks pebbley but a little softer, so I filled that in under (bottom 2" of each pot, as per instructions on the bag) and around the soil that the plants came rooted in.

I was also thinking about peat moss or something for the top of the very short plants such as the water lily. Not sure how to attach it, though, so it doesn't just float away.

I just sprang for some black fabric plant boxes from an internet site! nothing like spending more money.

I'd return those clay pots except I am not a car owner (live in manhattan, new york city) and a nice friend drove me to Long Island last night so I could get the plants (and pots; and misinformation).

He also sold me a hardy water lily when I said I wanted a tropical, but that's my fault because I didn't look closely (I didn't want to drive my non-plant-loving friend insane -- you know how it is when you're at a nursery -- particularly when you don't normally have access to one! I could have just moved in!)

thanks for all the advice.

liz,
you can just use plain old dirt for water plants. That's what they're used to.
Sounds like you got a nice, but clueless salesman!

ditto on the clay pots. I use plastic as well-solid ones for the water iris as they grow so fast and the mesh type for all others. Tried one of those cloth bag things but found it heavy to lift into the pond. You can use good old black loam garden soil as long as it doesn't have fertilizer or manure in it. I mix mine with play sand. Have used kitty litter (non scented natural clay) for water lilies with good results.

How deep is your water lily planted? I thought they needed to be in deeper water?

I just use tupperware. ;P I've got two lilies growing in a shallow wide tupperware container in the bottom 3 feet of my pond, and bullrushes and cattails in the shallows. I used clay soil that I dug up out of the yard.

I bet you could get some bobbi pins to hold the peat moss in to keep it from floating away.
Maybe you could put the clay pots on your terrace or patio and have a nice little patio garden.

Re; depth of planting the water lily: The stems on my water lily are maybe four inches long at this point (I'm talking about from the soil surface the where the leaves begin.

Therefore if I submerged the plant more than about four inches, the entire thing including leaves would be underwater.

Maybe I should have bought a more mature water lily! but I didn't see any at Hicks.

Basically my problem is that I don't have a car. Of course this could also, in other contexts, be seen as a plus!
If I had a car I would drive to the wonderful Scherer's farther out on Long Island, where I used to go in my car-ownership days. Don't know if I can justify a car rental to go plant shopping, but who knows what will develop as the pond-obsession continues through the summer! I'd also return those damned clay pots to Hicks. I might just donate them to a good charity.

Anyway...here is the url for a blog where I've posted two pictures of my pond, which looks GREAT except for the pots:

http://whateverdetritusetc.blogspot.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: blog with a couple of pond pictures

Liz, The entire lily pot, stems pads should be underwater, until the stems grow long enough to reach the surface. If you put it 2 feet underwater the stems and pads will reach the surface in about a week. If you put it 3 ft underwater they will take a little longer, but they will be stouter and stronger.Glenda

Black plastic oil pans are great for waterlilies. You do want to use clay garden soil, not potting soil and not peat moss which will turn your pond water brown.

No reason to spend money on aquatic planting soil. It is expensive and it makes a huge mess when raccoons dump it.

You do want to put the waterlily on the bottom. The pads will lengthen over night to reach the surface.

Many marginal plants can be planted in plastic mesh pots with pea gravel instead of dirt. They get nutrients from the water.

The only plants I have in dirt are waterlilies.

Cute Pond! Where is it located? Since you live in Manhattan. Just curious. Only marginal plants need to be close to the surface. The Lilly pads will reach for the light & grow up from what ever depth they are planted. You have a very nice Friend to drive you. Owning a car in NY would be VERY expensive, not to mention the danger of actually driving!! I've only been to New York on vacation, so I was driven around in a tour bus, & that was scary enough for me. Good Luck with your dilemma.
Dianne

I live in the East Village in Manhattan.

Strange mix of super-urban with a lot of wonderful community gardens scattered throughout, many with ponds! I happen to be lucky enough to have a small (20x40ft) garden.

I like driving in the city. It's parking that's the problem.

thank you all for the incredible advice. My water lily is now at the bottom of the pond, and I have great ideas for repotting the rest of the plants.

One way to hide the edges of your submerged pots would be to plant some hornwort or parrot feather in the pot with the plant. I plant hornwort in amongst the gravel in all my waterlily pots mostly so that it doesnt go down the bottom drain. Hornwort is an oxyegenator which is why I use it. They say fish eat it but mine don't. They prefer eating their babies which is fine by me. I don't know how invasive parrot feather is in your climate. Here it's an annual so doesn't take over my pond like some ponders say.

About your water lily. Be glad you were not sold a tropical as they need warm water all year long and even here where I am in Florida they can be fussy.

Tomkaren, please explain fussy.. I am north of you and I don't do anything to mine once I put them in the pond. I have even had a bloom on Christmas day. They are no different than the hardys for me. And they sometimes are prettier than the Hardys. And I love the purples and blues. I'm sure in New York it would be quite different though. Glenda