King of Siam

Panama Pacific

Alice Tricker

I just got this one-Miami Rose. It hasnt bloomed yet.

Red Flare, a tropical Night Bloomer

Beautiful pics! I especially love your lotus. Do you grow them in an actual pond or in pots?

sultry_jasmine, my favorites of yours are King of Siam and Red Flare (years ago I had night bloomers too!). Tropicbreezent, my favorites of yours are Nymphaea violacea and Nelumbo nucifera. All so lovely!

Sincere apologies for horrible photography... remodeling and my cameras are not reachable currently so this was taken with my phone. New pond, first bloom occurred this morning, fish seem to like it!

Attraction:

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Attraction is beautiful

I love your koi! Do they do a lot of damage to your water lilies? I have a few koi and some goldfish in a separate pond.

I would love to see more photos of your pond as it evolves!

Thank you sultry jasmine nights! No, our koi do not damage anything because they are shubunkins and sarasa comets only, LOL! I had a koi pond 20+ years ago, and though I loved them dearly they destroyed all my water lilies, all my underwater plants, and even ate all the water hyacinths! I'm finding the goldfish are so much easier on a pond! And just as attractive, social, friendly, silly, flirty, and charming! Here are some of them:

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Our pond is very new (although it was started last summer, it wasn't finished, long story, I won't bore you!). Small-ish, but large for our back yard, it's 9 ft x 7 ft. and a bit over 2-1/2 ft deep. I had to replant my 2 water lilies this past weekend as in only 2 months they'd outgrown the 2 small cloth pots I'd planted them in. I have Attraction and Joey Tomocik only (only Attraction bloomed, once). Both now in wider pots, and far happier. Hoping they will recover and form more, larger pads, and bloom. Used clay cat litter this time, with aquatic 'soil' over that, and topped with some pea gravel to weight the soils down. Added some fertilizer tabs to each. Also have a medusa rush (which I divided before planting, so it's still trying to recover) and a small pickerel rush - all in small pots, precariously balanced on built-up rocks on a too-low ledge!

After we finally finished the pond:

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The skimmer position was horrible (DH and I did not do that!), so purchased a faux rock which DH sawed apart and Frankenstein-ed back together (fiberglass).

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I finally got the faux rock covered with apoxie sculpt in DH's 'stitched' areas, and painted to attempt to match the others... missed the mark, but it's fine. I winter sowed seeds this past winter, so that's all that's planted around the pond this summer. I intend to add more leafy plants over the next few years. It'll take tweaking over time!

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Right now we are fighting string algae, but as the pond is in full sun, the plants are new, I hope in a couple years it'll balance out. I intend to remove one submersed pot of underwater plants and add one more water lily - hardy. Any suggestions?

Oh, and this is Croak, our resident bullfrog. He found his way into the pump's filter basket, somehow lived through that, and stupidly, I took photos of him on a rock by the pond... duh! He jumped back in right after this pic. We can catch him. ETA: We Can't catch him! He's fat from eating fish eggs.

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I hafta say, I love our pond, despite the string algae problems, it's so calming, and the falls just relax me after a long day! I do hope my water lilies will do better though.

How many koi do you have? Do they eat your lilies? Are most of your Lilies in a separate pond w/o fish?

Your fish are so cute! I love the calico colored ones.

I only have 2 koi (one butterfly and one semi butterfly) and 4 fancy tail goldfish and 6 regular goldfish. Of the 4 fancy tail goldfish, I have 2 fantailed Calicos and they are my favorites. They look like little fishing bobbers, they are so fat lol. They will come up to eat food from my hand, just like the koi. I thought the koi would be faster and eat up all the food before the fantails could wobble up there but no, the fantails are such little piggies, they beat the larger koi to the food. They are so much fun to watch.

I love Croak! He seems like he would be a great character for a children's book lol. We have a lot of green treefrogs and Squirrel treefrogs here. I see a lot of toads but not too many bullfrogs but they live in the lakes and rivers nearby.

The treefrogs like to hide in my roses and other flowers then lay their eggs/tadpoles in the waterlily and lotus water tubs.

*tree frogs hiding

Yor pond looks really nice. I am hoping to get a large in ground pond soon. I have 2 preformed patio ponds now on a back enclosed screened in porch. We have a natural underground spring in the front of our property but thats not where I would want a pond. One of our neighbor's has a huge pond (big enough for boats) right out by the street but I would be too worried about kids getting in there.

My lotus and waterlilies are all in large water pots now due to the koi eating them in the pond. I dont know if the goldfish were doing it too because they are all together.

Sure glad GW doesn't have sound - you'd have heard me laughing (which I wouldn't mind) at your 'fishing bobbers" description, then about 10 minutes of Aaaaawwwww's and Ooooohhhhh's when I saw the baby tree frogs in your rose - OMgoodness how precious are they!!! I am just enchanted by those sweet little frogs! Hubby saw Croak yesterday, he's gotten too big to be safe for our fish. We have to figure a way to capture him and relocate him. I'd give anything to have tree frogs - they are perfectly safe. Bullfrogs, not so much : (

Loved your description of the fantails! I will seem like an idiot, but I'd never seen them before, so when we picked up the shubinkins and sarasa comets this spring I saw some - so pretty, but I didn't know if they were hardy enough or not. Unlike the shubies and comets, they weren't in a pool, but rather an outside aquarium, to better show off their shorter bodies and pretty tails : ) The shubies have long flowing tails that I love! I also love the calico coloration, and my favorite 'attractive' shubinkin is the one above that has a yellow head (she's swimming under the others but you can see her head and part of her body). She's a Sky Blue, and so pretty. My favorite fish for personality is a mostly red sarasa comet, short tailed. Simply Red is his name, and he's a huge flirt. Any time I get in the pond, he's sucking on my fingers and chin (that's as far as I want my face in the water!), legs, anything... I tell my hubs Red is kissing me : ) He's also the most arduous fish and was chasing all the gals this spring during spawning. I think we lost the last fry last night in our skimmer - and it was a sarasa comet. Croak has made a meal of our baby fish.

Our pond is slowly coming along... I can't see our fish from our screened porch and think it'd be so nice to have fish on the porch!

You are lucky to live where you can plant tropical lilies, I've always thought they were so much prettier than the hardy, but they won't survive our winters.

BTW, the shubunkins and sarasas, and from what I've read, no goldfish, eat lilies. It's the koi that do so much damage to water plants.

Haha that's so hysterical about Simply Red being arduous! I must say, I havent been kissed by a fish yet! rotfl..He sounds like he will be making lots more babies in the future once Naughty Croak has been relocated. I didnt realize they feasted on baby fish so much but they probably gulp down anything they can get (maybe you should have called him Big Gulp haha).

The green tree frog tadpoles eat mosquitoes so that cuts down on mosquitoes in the lily tubs. They are endangered in FL because the Cuban Treefrogs have invaded south FL and are gradually moving north eating up everything including the smaller native green tree frogs. The little piggy Cuban treefrogs must be related to your Croak lol!

I did notice your fishie with the yellow head and thought, 'How interesting and unique'! I need to look around at more fish stores, to see what else is available here once I get a bigger pond. I like your shubinkins and comets!

I think hardy lilies are just as pretty as the tropicals. The tropicals do come in blue but I bet eventually there will be hybridizers making blue hardy lilies. I saw a listing for a very dark purple hardy waterlily recently but it was newer and still quite expensive.

I like the hardy lily Colorado with its orangy pinks.

I had a hardy yellow waterlily but it just didn't rebloom well here. I think they must need colder winters than we have. Sometimes, we barely freeze and sometimes we can get several nights under freezing. Its a gamble. Tropical lilies just work out better in my climate.

I cover my lily tubs with a piece of plywood on the nights it freezes and that seems to work pretty well.

My Miami Rose Waterlily finally bloomed again today. It hasnt bloomed since I first got it and that bloom didnt open right. This bloom is small. I just added a fertilizer tab so hopefully the blooms will become larger and more frequent. She has such pretty leaves! They are mostly burgundy w stripes of green.

Baby Treefrog tadpole...or perhaps its a Mermaid..you never know :)

Pamela already starting to close in the late afternoon light.

sultry_jasmine_nights, I just gotta ask, how many water lilies do you have? : ) Must be pretty wonderful to wake up to so many beauties! The Miami Rose bloom is lovely, but those pads! Are they not just the most striking!?! I was admiring them in your first post too! Pamela is gorgeous. What is it about white water lily blooms that I just love so much? The petals and stamens are quite nice on your Pamela.

That's a mermaid. ; - )

After replanting the Attraction and Joey Tomocik in larger pots, they are both doing very well. Joey seems to be concentrating on producing a lot of speckled pads, while Attraction just put out another bloom:

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My leaves aren't as healthy looking, but that is because I am treating our pond for a nasty algae. And we get a bit of water splatter from the falls when the water level drops a bit.

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And yep, found my camera! LOL!

Had a nice overcast day, and got a pic of the shubunkin goldfish with the yellow spot on her head (the Sky Blue) (I named her Blondie) which I wanted to share with you...

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I'm thinking I might be lucky to get any yellow pads from my Joey this year. I've read they can be hard to bloom. Still, the pads are much needed and have already helped in fighting our string algae and providing shade for the fish.

I added fertilizer tablets to everything too (and the fish fertilize all)... I'm seeing some curled growth on my medusa rush for the first time since I 'wacked' it in half to divide.

I had to count lol, I only have 7 different tropical waterlilies and 2 are night bloomers. Then, I have 3 diff Lotus varieties.

Miami rose does have the most beautiful pads of all the varieties that I have! Im sure it would be big and gorgeous in a bigger pond vs my water tubs lol.

I have heard King of Siam and MS are a little more cold tolerant and can take a little shade. We have got into the 20'sF here and KoS did fine. I do cover the tubs with a piece of plywood though and the water might ice a tiny bit on top but never freezes solid. You could maybe put a pond de-icer in there to help. Or safer yet, just take the pot out and store it if you ever decide to try tropicals.

I read some sellers were wrapping their tropical bulbs in some type of fabric and storing them at room temp. I will have to look for the article!

Im in love with your little shubunkins especially the sky blue one! I looked at local retailers that had sky blues and they wanted me to order a minimum of 50 fish! Not right now lol.

No, no, no. You are not permitted to write: "II had to count lol, I only have 7 different tropical waterlilies and 2 are night bloomers. Then, I have 3 diff Lotus varieties" LOL!!! Anyone that has to count may not use the word "only" : D What a paradise! Sure would love to see a photo of your potted beauties!

If I had a place to store tropicals over winter, I would... they are just so beautiful. Last winter they probably would have survived, but the winters before.. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't. When I was buying ours this year I saw some tropical lotus I fell in love with, but they assured me only for an indoor pond are pots here. Dang.

"I read some sellers were wrapping their tropical bulbs in some type of fabric and storing them at room temp. I will have to look for the article!" If this looks viable, would you mind sharing your thoughts? Might be a way after all... I'm utterly infatuated with your Miami Rose pads.

Yeah, those darned Sky Blues are ridiculously priced online. Wanted one before we shopped locally but as you said, they had a minimum order of 8 million or something ridiculous! Truthfully, mine isn't a true Sky Blue, she's got some red (which is a no-no for sky blue's), but her color is that of a Sky Blue, so that's just how I identify her. She was the only one at our local fish place that had that coloring so I snatched her quickly!

Sultry, I'm so happy - my lilies are finally growing lots of pads! Re-potting, adding more fertilizer tablets did the trick, and they look healthy! The Attraction isn't growing pads as vigorously, but they are coming up large, and burgundy. The fish are loving the shade : )

There are some lotus that can take more cold. I dont know what zone you are in but here is a article on growing hardy lotus. https://pondlotus.com/pages/overwintering-lotus-plant-care

I have my waterlilies and lotus pots kinda spread out, around my garden

Some in the side yard, some in back. I put one lotus tub in one of my rose beds because it was a freebie and I wasnt expecting it so I put it where the frogs hide out in the roses so they can loe their eggs in the lotus container. Its just in a plastic round laundry tote for now lol.

Your waterlilies are looking beautiful. I am sure the leaves will be lush soon!

Sultry, thank you for that article link. I was amazed bleach is used - I'd never have guessed that but I now understand why : ) I've saved the link.

If you were me, and I know that's not a good way to ever start a question - and you could only add one more, would it be another water lily, or a hardy (hardier) lotus? I'm wondering if you've preferences : )

The leaves have spread! This was taken last week, and since then more large pads have formed... none as pretty as your Miami Rose, but still... if you compare the pic above with this one, what a difference! And yes, they are so much healthier!

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I told my hubby about the baby tree frogs peeking out from the rose petals. I don't think he was nearly as enchanted as I still am : ) LOL! I even looked up to see if I could add tree frogs - next year when we aren't so busy remodeling, I'll go back to the pond place and see if they have any.

We've not heard from Croak in a while, but he does that. Goes quiet for a week, then starts croaking again. He has been traveling more, as I've seen him on our patio and we heard him under our porch a couple times.

Wow those lily pads really have grown and are beautiful! They are making nice hiding spots for the fishies.

It might be too late in the season to add lotus this year. Lotus tubers are usually only shipped in early spring before they break dormancy and become brittle and easily broken in the mail. So usually late March at the latest but... if you find one already potted up locally, you could probably get one.

I would try to get a lotus even if its nect year, just to add something different but knowing me I would probably be sticking more lilies in tubs lol!!

I'm just kinda obsessed with water lilies right now. I really dont need any more though :0

The lotus have round leaves and some stick up out of the water and water kinda beads up on them. I think they are pretty neat.

I don't know about the laws where you are and what kinds of frogs can survive there or can be brought in etc., but I think some kinds of tadpoles are sold on ebay and other places online.

There are lots of different kinds of treefrogs. I am only familiar with the kinds we have here which are mostly squirrel and green treefrogs. We also have the naughty invasive Cuban treefrogs in FL which like to eat up our other little treefrogs and native lizards so now the natives are endangered in some parts of FL.

Frogs like to get in the bananas plants as well. Here is a closeup of a group hiding in a rolled up banana leaf. I think the 2 larger are female and the smaller one is male.
Froggy Love♡

Here's another frog in a rose for you :)

It's not a good idea to introduce frogs (tadpoles) from a different place into your locality. Worldwide there's been a big decline in frog populations, a lot due to habitat destruction and also to introduced diseases. Frogs from other areas could be resistant to some diseases (or not) and be carriers that could spread the disease into your local populations. Captive bred frogs are usually exposed to lots of frogs from many different places or kept in multiple use containers. They're considered a great risk for spreading diseases. And there's also the aspect Sultry pointed out with the Cuban treefrogs, the devastating impact they can have on the local fauna. It's always better to collect tadpoles or frogs from your own locality.

Ok, it's official, tree frogs are the cutest little creatures! I had to really look to see that little one in the rose petals (I'd be framing those photos were it me). Thanks so much for sharing, Sultry. And did I already mention... get those photos framed! LOL! Sorry, don't mean to be bossy : )

Oh, so it's lotus that has the pads that stick up! I think I will try to find one next spring, then. It'd definitely be unique from the others. I do understand infatuation with water lilies, though : ) Thank you for letting me know I should wait until next spring. Since the last post, the Attraction has produced more of the larger dark purple pads.

tropicbreezent, well, you're right of course, and I wasn't thinking. We did have a small green frog, unknown what type, early this year, but it got caught in the filter basket and died. I was so sad. No, I don't want to introduce anything that would be problematic in any way. Croak seems to have "left the building"... either that or he's been unusually quiet for a week and a half. Not like him. It's a relief, as he was getting too big to keep the fish safe.

We've enough wildlife and bug-life to keep me satisfied without endangering our current pond residents and visitors : )

Maybe you could just check locally for what kind of tadpoles are available, like at pond supply stores or even fishing bait type stores. My dh fishes a lot and sometimes the tackle shops that sell live bait, have all kinds of tadpoles and stuff like that. The staff there might also be able to give you some leads.

Thanks for the tree froggy compliments. The frogs are mostly nocturnal so like to sleep deep in the rose petals during the day. They eat thrips and other little bugs so I appreciate their service :) I post a lot of my rose-frog pics over on the rose forums. They are probably sick of them by now lol ! Our rainy season has started very late this year so my frog photos are delayed this year. Lots of tadpoles in the lily tubs and fountain, so hopefully soon!

I need to find a cheap source for lily fertilizer tabs. Does anyone here use the Jobe's Tomato Fertilzer stakes? I've read that some people use them. They have high Phosphorus so are essentially like a bloom booster. Maybe the pond tabs are too, I havent really looked at the NPK ratio on the pond tabs, I guess I should..

Good idea, about checking for locale tadpoles... and that reminds me, when i bought my plants this spring, the hogwart (underwater plant) were covered in frog eggs, and she offered to give them to me... I said no! DUH! What was I thinking??? Next year... : )

"They are probably sick of them by now lol !" Nope, not possible, no one could ever be sick of those!

I'd be interested in knowing about the Jobe's also, just for ease of purchase. I did buy these water lily tablets and the cost was about .26 cents per tablet (I was placing another order so not sure about shipping costs for the bottle.

My Joey Tomocik just popped up with a bud yesterday - it hasn't opened yet, but oh I can't wait to see it! Must be beginner's luck! That water lily has produced so many pads I'm going to have to cut them back in a couple days : ( I'll be sure to post a photo - it's supposed to be a very pretty yellow.

Been a bit busy, but here are a couple Joey Tomicik's pics - first one bloomed and the petals were so translucent! Hubs was bummed... stays open from about 9:00am to about 3;00pm, so he never sees it other than pics.

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Second bloom occurred today, and the petal were not translucent, and more yellow. I realize it looks greener in the pic, but the sun shines so bright when it's open I can't really see how the pics are coming out.

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Banner day here at the pond... both Joey and Attraction new blooms at the same time!

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We'd not heard Croak in 3 weeks, and assumed he just moved on. I was cutting away the cornflowers behind the water fountain statue and something jumped out, then jumped into the rocks... it was a baby bull frog! Guess old Croak was kinda busy, huh?! I don't know if I'm happy or not, so I've decided to be happy about it today, LOL! I can worry about the fish after this one grows a bit : )

That's the extent of my water lilies. Only 2 : )

Anyone else?

How cool. I love baby frogs! Now you have to think of a new name for this one lol. I really love the brick/block edging around your pond. It makes it look so regal.

Your lilies are so pretty and the pads nice and healthy. Most of mine bloom in the day and are closed up in the evening as well. I still have one new night bloomer that hasnt bloomed yet. I dont think it will be especially pretty but is supposed to be very fragrant so it is mainly for the night creatures like hummingbird moths to nectar on. I noticed a few of my lilies blooming this morning. I need to get my phone or camera out there but I've been so lazy due to the heat and rain. I try to get the most necessary things done quickly and get back inside where its cooler lol.

Your post inspired me to go out and get a few pics. I learned something today. Pamela waterlily is fragrant! She smells like candy. I got curious after watching several tiny bees fighting over her pollen and took a whiff lol. No wonder the bees love her, she smells so yummy! She is the palest ice blue color today.

Pamela

A tadpole taking a breath in the Miami Rose waterlily tub.

King of Siam..the color of this lily today is literally Navy Blue!! My phone camera is making it look purple but it was not.

It's so strange the way the same lily can be a different shade of color for different blooms, isn't it? Your King of Siam is just so striking (I see navy blue at the top petals of your photo!), but I have to admit envy over Pamela. You just have so many! Saw a butterfly yesterday attempting to land on one of my Joey's (now 2 new blooms, it's going bloom crazy!) but didn't stay. No scent. Never see bees on Attraction of the Joey. I'm guessing the Tropicals have more scent.

I hear what you're saying about the heat. This summer has been pretty awful with humidity for us, and anything outside gets done early morning - or doesn't get done at all. My front yard shrubs need trimming and I'm not even considering it yet. I usually keep up with those things so well, but this year, eh!

Ooooooh, that tadpole: ) But it makes me a little sad too. I found a tadpole in the skimmer net (not alive). : ( I see no eggs, anywhere, so I don't know who it came from!

Croak Jr., or at least that's what I call him, is alive and well. He's now croaking so I guess he's big enough to look for a lady? I also noticed the fish were spawning so I'm guessing Croak Jr. is filling his belly. We've yet to get a really good look at him. Lots of dragonflies dipping into the water again, laying eggs. Some beautiful neon blues. No pics, they are too fast!

Miami Rose is Open today:) I decided to go sniffing all the waterlilies and I was very surprised to find out Miami Rose has a nice fragrance too. King of Siam only had a slight sweet scent- but it was scented. I can't believe I've never thought to smell them all before. I will have to sniff Panama Pacific when it blooms again.

I hope Croak Jr (good name!) finds a girl. I am jealous your fish are spawning. It would be neat if you got some sky blue babies!

I dont think mine are old enough to spawn. If they make some babies I might experiment, putting a few fry in the waterlily tubs. I dont know if the koi and the goldfish would mate? I have a bunch of goldfish and only 2 koi. I heard the goldfish take 3 yrs to be old enough to breed. I dont know how old koi need to be.

Miami Rose-the flowers seem to be getting larger now that it got some fertilizer.

Alice Tricker w bees..she has the strongest scent of all the daybloomers and blooms the most.

King of Siam...one old faded bloom behind one newly opened bloom. My phone camera does weird things with blues and purple plants. It make my KoS lilies purple instead of blue and the Panama Pacific lilies pinkish lilac instead of purple :/ lol

Alright, that's just not fair! LOL! First, you have way too many beautiful water lilies (this most recent K of S is so brilliant it almost burned my retinas!), and now you're smelling them?! {Huge smile here!}. I can't get to mine to smell. Not unless I get in that water, and that's not happening again this year {crossing fingers}. I'm only half kidding on your K of S... I clicked the pic on my pc, it enlarged, and WHAM, brilliance! Takes my breath away! I just love that lily!

The fish will eat all their eggs now... the submerged plants (hornwart, something else) have all popped out of their containers, gotten lost in the cleanup, so no place for the eggs and fry to hide. Dang. Well, next year.

I don't know much about the mingled breeding of goldfish and koi, but I do know goldfish will mix and mate. Since I have sarasa comets and shubunkins, it's unlikely I'll have only shubunkin babies, or be lucky enough to have a sky blue baby. The only fry I've ever seen close enough was a sarasa fry. And because life just works that way, after I named them, after I was able to remember all 9 of their names by their marks, they started spawning (earlier this spring for the first time). Typically right after I fed them. And of course, Annie (Lenox) and Chrissie (Hynde) were chasing and pushing up from underneath Stevie Ray, Eddie (Vedder), Aerosmith, and Angus (Young). So my males have female names, my females have male names {rolls eyes}. Well, except Blondie and then there's Spot, who could be any gender (both of which are females). Wait, I'm leaving one out... oh yeah, Simply Red, He's a she. So I've only got 2 males, both of which are red and orange sarasa comets. Unless one of the shubies is messin' with me ; )

Sorry, got side-tracked. Ha! You can make a spawning mop with some yarn, give them some incentive... you know, set the mood, so to speak! I intend to next year (make a mop). Maybe you could do that next summer if yours aren't old enough. Yes, you could pull the mop out of the goldfish tub and put it in a lily tub to be born, and grow. I'd do it before they're born if possible. Goldfish will eat the eggs in no time flat. As will frogs.

That darned Croak Jr. is already croaking! Sounds worse than his daddy too, who couldn't do proper bullfrog croak if his life depended on it. Sounds like a hoarse duck, choking. So, he's calling for a lady : )

Shoulda taken pics of the two Joey's blooming, but forgot : (

I love all the Rockstar names for your fish! That's funny that they have reverse sex names ;)

That is a great idea on the spawning mop! Now I want to make a spawning mop right now! It looks like such a fun project lol. I know they aren't old enough though. I do have another preformed pond I'm not using. It is only 35 gallon but I could use that for fry. It has a pump and filter which is off right now.

I had to laugh at "Sounds like a hoarse duck, choking" reminds me of what our baby roosters sound like when they start to crow. Perfect description haha. The frogs here are deafening when it starts raining which is every other day lately.

I have a new project, kinda started. I have one of those large carp-looking fish planters from Home Depo. I'm planning on turning it into a bubbler. I still need to buy a few more things and find a way to seal the fish planter some how to make it more waterproof. I think it is fired clay. I will try to get a few more pics up later today.

~Sjn

sjn, I thought you might think me goofy with those fish names... all but 'Spot' LOL!

I had to google Home Depot and fish planter... cool! What a perfect vessel to make a bubbler. Is it this one?

16 in. x 20 in. Blue Sea Clay Fish Planter-FISHM-B - The Home Depot · More Info

I've always wanted to make one too (wait, I've got a pond, same idea, duh). How are you going to seal it? Figured that out yet? That would be the one thing I'd be totally stuck on. They make paint-on sealants, don't they? Photos of your progress pretty please! Fish going into it or no? C'mon, details! Ha!

So I decided to take a photo of the two Joey's and of course one was past it's prime but lo and behold, an Attraction nudged up next to the newest Joey! They are producing water lilies faster than I can keep up now! And clearly no more room for another water lily next year {sad face} because the pads have taken over most the pond, which is a good thing for both pond and fish, but I wanted another water lily. Ok, I'll stop whining : )

Croak Jr. found Croak Sr.'s cave (which is just a hole in the rocks at water level, just perfect to cool one's webbed feet and belly, but keep that hoarse throat above water level. Took a couple pics of the cave but he always disappeared too quickly (as did Daddy). Today I enlarged the pics, and here he is (side view):

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He's already croaking daily and nightly for a lady. I think he's far too young to date but like many young fellas, he's not listening to me.

I'd love to hear your tree frogs. Even deafening : ) I feel quite sure they make a much more pleasant sound!

Well, along with our chipmunks (Chip and Dale), and 2 rabbits who keep eating my phlox (no names, I don't like them eating my flowers), the pond has attracted a skunk who is now drinking nightly from it, and a huger than huge ground hog (not happy about that either, we're putting in a veg garden now for next year, and ground hog's will eat everything). Love the dragonflies, and the birds though : ) Croak Jr.? I guess we've decided to let him stay on as well. Not that we had an option ha!

Yes that is the same planter! I had a garden coupon which one can get if they sign up on Home Depot's website for their garden club. They email coupons several times a year. Every little bit helps lol. Im glad I went to the store to buy it because there were a few with cracks or chips and I had to dig to find a pretty one lol.

I might just get a gallon of cement sealer because I have a cement fountain that we still need to take apart and reseal. I got it used and the previous owner used latex paint on it which is now peeling ugg.

Here is my fishy..ok grr houzz isnt uploading my pics today

Its been raining so I havent done much outside. We may be getting storms for several days.

Your lily photo is scrumptuous! Joey just glows!! I need a yellow waterlily. Maybe next spring I will look for a yellow tropical. One of my lotus is supposed to be yellow but NONE of my 3 lotus have bloomed. Kinda depressing lol. They have lots of leaves though.

Croak Jr looks happy in his cave. He's all set up with a home and very own pond with beautiful lily pads. What Frog Princess wouldn't want to marry him! lol

We had family if skunks living under our back deck one year. In the morning, we would go outside and smell faint skunk odor. Took us awhile to figure out they were under the deck. Baby skunks are awfully cute, I have to admit :p

I havent seen any skunks lately just possum, racoon, and armadillos. There was a dead armadillo in the street, hit by a car, the other day. A bunch of huge black vultures dragged it down into our driveway and proceeded to fight over the carcass ripping it apart. Gross! Halloween is a comin' lol.

I think that's where most our wild things live - under the back porch! And yep, baby skunks are sweet looking. I knew a gentleman from France (this was years ago) who had 2 pet skunks. I don't think they have the rabies issue we do.

I'm pretty excited to see how your project turns out. Yeah, houzz is being pooty lately. To get anything in a post I create a private ideabook, and upload it to that. Then it shows.

"I got it used and the previous owner used latex paint on it which is now peeling ugg." Uh, that'd be me. I'm infamous for using latex paints on exterior adornments. : ) I actually painted our faux pond rock with that cheap acrylic stuff you can get at Walmart. Yep. It'll peel eventually, and I'll just dab some more on. I'd have used the good stuff (Krylon) that'd last, but I needed several colors dappled on.

Thank you for the kind words about the Joey - it was a spectacular one! We have 5 blooming now (most ever!) but it's so hot that they do not look good at all. Sure am sorry to hear about your lotus flowers. Give 'em time, maybe?

I hope you don't hate me for this SJN, but here's the latest photo of I took of...

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I saw this last week. It's Croak Sr. See that fat belly? Fish eggs. The fish had just spawned, tons. all gone now. Croak Sr. came back, to fill up. He's big enough here to eat the fish, or at least try, and kill them in the process (if you scroll up, you can see how much he's grown). I caught him somehow, and DH took him to the river. He'll be happy, but I just couldn't let him hurt the fish. Croak Jr. is still with us. His croak is far worse than his daddy's! Please don't be upset at me for re-homing that big boy : ) Just that I caught him was a miracle.

Good luck with your project... I hope you'll keep me updated!

I’m new to the pond game. This is my first Waterlily ‘Little Sue’.

Christian, "She's" a beauty! I've not heard of this one, is it a tropical or hardy? Certainly a unique color! Pink/peach on my monitor. Would you tell us a bit more about your pond, or wish to share more pictures? Happy ponding!

7 water lilies blooming now, but didn't get a photo of them all. Same Attraction and Joey's, so nothing really new...

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This has been the brightest Attraction, below.

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Did manage a quick shot of 4 lilies in various stages. Algae accumulates in the evenings, but it goes into the filter (and fishes bellies!) by morning.

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We now not only have Croak Jr., but also a couple baby bullfrog 'cousins'. About an inch each. One of the Sarasa Comets, whom I named 'Spot' lost her spot in less than a month! I knew they could change color, but hadn't witnessed it until this recent...

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SJN, how's the project coming?

2manydiversions, sorry about my late reply. little sue is a miniature hardy. She is gorgeous. My pond is 3600 gallons, and I have a few koi in it it’s new this year. I’ll post a little more tomorrow it’s getting late tonight.

And one more photo of sue

Sorry I have been mia lately! I missed this thread. I have been busy and with the horrid heat and humidity plus the recent hurricane scare, I havent done much gardening. Trying to get back to normal lol.

Here is my fishy planter. Its bluer than the ones online. I might add some bronze color to it..just little touches here and there. I havent done anything with this project yet due to the heat.

2many, Wow your lilies are all going crazy now. So many beauties. You will need a bigger pond soon or have to start growing in tubs like me lol.

So, you have quite a collection of frogs started lol. Pretty soon you will have babies everywhere. Tonight I went out with the flashlight and shined it into the lily tubs. Pretty interesting stuff going on in there! All stages of tadpoles and tiny frogs sitting on the pads. Snails, some kinda weird diving beetle. I think I saw dragonfly larvae. I took some pictures that I will try and upload on here tomorrow. I seem to have to resize them all or they won't upload to HOUZZ.

Interesting about Spot or should we say Spotless! I knew fish changed a little but that was a big bright spot to begin with! Wow!

Christian, What a gorgeous lily Little Sue is! I love those peachy pink tones. Looks like a sunrise! I also hadn't heard of her.

You have a good sized pond! Please feel free to share pond pics. We love seeing them.

My tropical night bloomer, Red Flare sent up a bud tonight. Maybe it will open in a night or two. It is in way too much shade now since a nearby Live Oak has grown so much. I need to move the tub/planter into more sun. I had to use a flashlight to get a photo.

Here is a partially spent brugmansia flower in the garden tonight that was hanging a little above my head. This froggy is waiting for moths and male mosquitoes to be drawn to the scent of the flower so he can eat them.

Christian: Gorgeous - I haven't seen that one until you posted it here. Wish I had room in our small pond for that one. 3,600 gallons is pretty big! Would love to see photos. Are you enjoying your koi? I've had koi, years ago, but they just ate everything in site, including all my water lilies.

SJN - First and foremost, I hope you and yours are safe and sound, and I hope you had no damage from high winds or flooding. It's been ridiculously humid here too... and it's September for crying out loud!

I love the color of your planter - and I'd be all over that with some bronze, LOL! Seriously. I would! I've got some bronze statues, with that lovely patina of turquoise to a blue-ish in areas. I've also painted cement statues with either the turquoise or a blue-ish color (like your fish), added the lighter areas with a wash, then gone over with a dry-brush technique using bronze or dark gold to mimic a bronze statue. ?Sometimes use a soft cloth to quickly rub in and smooth out the bronze. Looks good.

I'd love to see the Red Flare in bloom... laughed that you thought to take your flashlight with your camera - I'd not been so smart!

It's a done deal, Spot is now Spotless - told my DH about your name, and he laughed too, said it was very fitting : )

You win the cutest frogs award, durn-it. I'll trade ya! Sadly, Croak Jr. met with an untimely death... somehow he got past the grate in front of the skimmer, the net as well, and went down the buried pvc pipe "highway" and ended in the pump basket. I clean the pond every other day or so... he was 'gone' by the time I found him. However... Croak Sr. was apparently busy... he left us 2nd generation frogs... the fish didn't eat all the eggs and we've got 3 or 4 now. I am much quieter around them, and they are much braver than their older brother, or their Dad.

Here's the smallest:

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And this fella (or gal) is a bit larger:

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But gosh they all have their Daddy's horrible croak! Wish I could get it on tape. Does not sound like a bullfrog. None of 'em! Never thought we'd have frogs on lily pads. Kinda cute for now...

I love your 2nd generation of frogs! Those photos belong in a magazine! Where do they hide in the winter? Do you have any snow there now?

No frogs out on my roses right now, they are all hibernating in banana leaves or wherever else they can find. Some of the smarter ones find their way into the greenhouse to hide and eat bugs in balmy temperatures. No freezes here yet though.

My tropical waterlilies are confused. They are normally dormant by now. Since we are staying warmer this year so far, they quit flowering but some are putting up leaves but the leaves are very small. The duck weed is growing like crazy though. They were hitch hikers with a few lilies I ordered and didn't do much all summer. Now they are exploding.

For some reason, I swore I responded to this thread before and had this photo of Red Flare night bloomer..its often more hot pink than red. Houzz must of not put it through or something..? Anyways here it is.

Red Flare

My hobby is hybridizing waterlilies. I do it just for fun.

Here are 3 of them.

SJN – well, I’ve no excuse other than I missed the email notification that you’d posted… my bad! So, we aren’t perfect after all ; )

We’re on our 3rd generation now. They seem resilient, with the exception of the pump, so we’ve lost a few. Still, there are a few frogs in our pond. At 21 F last night, I’m not sure how, or where they hide. On warmer days they sun on the pebbles and rocks around the pond, and when I do go outside they jump into the water and make a beeline for the bottom of the pond! I assume they are in a semi-hibernation mode in the garden around the pond, and enjoy a quick dip on warmer days, LOL!

Thank you for the photo of the Red Flare, she’s beautiful! I the color : ) I can’t believe you’ve got lily pads, even small, and duckweed growing! Is duckweed that really tiny stuff?

Our lily pads are all dead, just a memory. We’ve got bubblers and a pond warmer going to prevent ice-overs. The fish are mostly just floating at the bottom or inside the small rock caves we made, in their hibernation stage, and like the frogs, surface in warmer weather (wanting food, which would be a no-no now). I counted all nine a couple weeks ago, which made me feel quite relieved. I hope our lilies will come back – they should this summer. Kinda sad this time of year, without all the flowers and life.

marilyn_c, beautiful water lilies, thank you for sharing! I’m guessing from the looks of them they are tropicals? Mine are hardy, and I find the tropicals so much prettier.

Yes, they are tropicals, but I like hardies also. There is such a great deal of variation in all of them. I especially like the hardy miniatures. I live in a warm climate, so tropicals do so well here, but I have loved waterlilies since I was 10 years old. That was 63 yrs ago. My school went on field trip to the zoo, and there was a lily pond there. I picked a bloom and floated it in my aquarium at home. It opened and closed for 3 days. I got married at 19 and the place we bought had an old water trough and it became my first water garden. When we moved, 30 years later, we moved it too. Twenty three years later, we moved again, and again we moved the water trough. Here it is at the second place with miniature waterlilies in it.

I tried to post a second pic of it, to show the size but it didn't want to post. Will try again later.

Hi marilyn! Yes, sometimes Houzz plays games with posts and pictures. Very frustrating! Sounds like love at first sight : ) My first pond was... {thinking hard and using my fingers to count} 30 years ago, so I'm a newbie compared to you, ha! My koi ate my lilies the first year. Sounds like you and Sultry Jasmine Nights both live in warm states (I live in TN, and last night it was 17 F, brrrrrr), and both have a real love for water lilies. I've only got the two above now.

I hafta ask, is that a visitor opossum, or is it a pet? It just looks so tame and really sweet! We have visitor opossums, skunks, groundhogs, et al. They all love the water, don't they?

Yes, it's a possum that I raised and released. I used to rehab wildlife. I raised many, many baby possums.

Here is that trough after we moved it this last time.

2manydiversions, Hey how ya been? Happy to see you posting!

Yes the Duckweed is tiny but multiplies rapidly. If I get too much maybe my muscovy ducks will get some. I am surprised you still have naughty frogs hopping around in winter. Our treefrogs are hibernating in the bananas. I found some when I was looking at a bunch of fruits.

I lifted up a leaf and saw frog eyes lol.

At what temperature do you stop feeding you fish? Our temps go up and down so much this winter, I am confused and so are my fish, about feeding. The last few nights were actually around 32F , with only one night actually hitting freezing. Its our first freeze of the winter. Nights are going up n down usually 50s-60's F. Days can be 70s or even 80sF. Crazy

marilyn, I love your lilies. If I ever got a seedpod, I would be thrilled! I wonder if its too cold here for them to mature? I am quite impressed that you are able to hybridize tropical lilies.

What a cute possum. They love to come up to the porch and try to get the food I feed the stray cats. I started feeding them in the late afternoon instead of evening so the racoon and possums wouldn't get their food. They are bold here.

I love that waterlily trough! That's what I need here!

SJN!! How wonderful to hear from you! How are you? I now feel like those tiny frog pictures are posted just to make me smile! I still can't get over how tiny they are, and they always look like they're smiling! They are just beyond precious! I think our frogs are hibernating, but on the warm days (upper 70's one unusual day) they come out to warm themselves.

Yep, those are big fluctuations in temps. Not sure what I'd do in that case... probably still feed them since your weather stays warmer for the most part. For here, once fall weather starts to kick in, I add a bit of pond salt to thicken up the fishes slime coat and start feeding them fewer days. I also make sure to keep my hands away from them so I don't rub off any of their slime. Then I start measuring the pond temperature during the middle of the day as it gets colder - I stop feeding them when the pond is at 50 F or less for several days. And I don't feed them again throughout the winter. Their metabolism has slowed so much, that feeding them on a few warmer days might make them susceptible to Ick or other such things. Spring comes along, and I start measuring the water temp again, and slowly increase feedings as the pond warms. It's cold now, and the fish are just floating at the bottom - those I can see. Spotless, the one you aptly named, is easy to see, and I'm glad we haven't had any cranes or hawks visit (knocking on wood).

Did you ever have a chance to work on your water feature? Our weather got cold, and I got busy, so am still working on landscaping around our pond - or rather, I never got to it and need to get back to it this spring : )

marilyn_c, now that is One Big Trough! My goodness, I had no idea. I was imagining something... well, smaller! I imagine you can keep quite a lot of lilies in that, but how you moved it, uh, twice, I have no idea! How nice that is! I'd have moved it too : )

Thanks for the reply and tips on fishy care and feeding. I've had koi and now goldfish off n on again for several years and I still dont really feel like I know what I'm doing half the time. I kinda just muddle through every situation as it occurs haha.

I don't have a normal pond just my pre formed patio pond. I think it would be easier and a lot more fun to have a normal inground pond.

What all plans do you have for your pond landscaping this spring? What fun it would be to landscape an inground pond! I think it would be cool to put some arching grasses around in areas and a bench!

Of course, in Florida if I had a pond, I would probably have an alligator to come eat up my fish unless I had it screened in somehow lol ! A few acres behind us is a small river branch with some deep pools. Its kinda swampy creepy back there. For sure, there's gators in there :○

I havent done anything with my fishy water feature pot. I am sidetracked right now trying to figure out what to do with new roses that should be coming any day lol. I will probably be potting most of them up.

I have flowerbeds to weed and get some cardboard down before the horrid stinging nettles come back again. Last year, I just gave up on one bed and let them take over after getting stung through long sleeves :/ Once it gets real hot, they disappear till the next spring lol.

I think given where you live, the warmer weather, and that it's a patio pond, you most likely don't need to worry about your fish going into semi-hibernation. And oh, trust me, the in-ground is a PITA to prep for winter! We have to drain all the underground pipes leading the the UV light and pump and filter. We have to empty the pump (easy) and shut it down, empty the buried bio filter (not easy, a lot of cursing and freezing hands!), and everything gets wrapped with insulation and covered (we don't have a pump house, just fake rocks covering things). I keep aeration stones going all year so no change there, but add a pond warmer (those usually last only a year), and well, you get the picture! Ha! Spring time we start everything up again, usually some troubleshooting involved, and there's the 'pea soup' to watch over - I usually let that remedy itself.

Ah, cardboard. I finally learned about it last fall here on GW. Lifesaver! My DH thought I had lost my mind, but not anymore! I've also stockpiled newspapers to keep weeds down in our veg garden. "I think it would be cool to put some arching grasses around in areas and a bench!" Well, great minds think alike!!! Savannah Ruby grass I winter sowed last year, Shot up like gangbusters! Seating wall around the patio and I just flip my legs over to sit at the pond : )

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Those bright red flowers just above are a compact zinnia but they took half the summer to really spread out. I'm thinking of adding more perennials, fewer annuals. We planted a sunflower and zinnia patch last year and it was wonderful so intend to do that again this spring... I added some daylilies and other bulb plants this fall, and where I'd planted blue forget-me-nots, I might dig those up and replace. They just were too leggy with no blooms to speak of. I tend to go overboard with flowers, and I need some greenery to break that up. It's all a work in progress as I'm doing it by the seat of my pants : ) I have kept my beds weeded so they aren't in bad shape, but two larger patches still need some plastic laid over them to tone down those thorny things before I can sow seeds this spring. I'm adding some pea gravel, small river rocks, large river rocks, and flagstones to the pond area leading over to the garden shed... Thought I'd do that this winter but the weather hasn't cooperated, and lack of time. I've got a small in-ground concrete pond in the front yard that I want to mosaic with a fish design. Yes, I've got too many plans!

Truthfully, SJN, I'm running so behind that if I don't get started with winter sowing, I'll have to wait until next year.

And speaking of roses (I didn't know you had roses!), I'm not happy with the front landscaping, so I'm pulling it out and re-planting with miniature roses I think. Maybe a smattering of white candy tuft. What mixes nicely with miniature roses in a small space?

Gators... Now that would really give me the heebie jeebies! But no more than copperheads, which we have (and I'm betting you do too). Have you ever seen one on your property??

Wow I had no idea how much work you have to do to winter prep your pond! It sounds pretty extensive.

A mosaic pond sounds amazing! Thats really creative. I cant wait to see how it turns out if you decide to do it.

I love your Zinnias and especially the Savannah Ruby grass. It softens up the whole look. I bet its pretty when there's a little breeze. I need to add some grasses here. I have Papyrus grass and thats about it lol. Oh yeah, I have a big stand of Lemon grass. It dies back in the winter. That reminds me that I need to check on it.

I am also planning to add daylilies. Last year I bought some that were supposed to be pink but turned out to be orangy yellow with maroon in the center. It looked crazy in my pink and yellow rose flowerbed lol. So I will be moving those to the veggie garden area and getting hopefully true pink ones.

I do have a lot of roses but they are all normal sized or big climbers. I don't have any minis yet so I can't advise on that lol. I have seen some cute ones posted on the rose forums lately.

There are copperheads in this part of FL but I havent seen any in our yard. I did find our dog had cornered a huge Timber Rattlesnake by the chicken coops a few yrs ago. That was a scary experience. Luckily she didnt get bit. They have a very potent venom but are not aggressive snakes.

We sometimes find big rat snakes trying to eat chicken eggs but they aren't venomous.

Well, now I'm really, really envious! But in a nice way : ) You have chickens, meaning you've got fresh eggs! How wonderful!

Wait, I'm talking about chickens on a Lily thread! Ha! Timber Rattlers? We have those too but I've never seen one... and that would scare me more than a 'gator.. far more. Yes, your dog is so lucky! Rat snakes can be bitey, and sometimes rather ornery, but they do eat rodents, so we don't do anything if we see one. Hub's used to keep a 'pet' rat snake in a shed. Handy there.

Yes, ponds can take a bit to winterize, but they aren't hard to get going in the spring, and from that point, with our set up at least, take up very little time to keep it up during the summer. My previous pond had an awful filter, and cleaning it was a nightmare each week. Not this one thankfully.

I may try some lemon grass around the pond as I'm looking for more greenery. The Ruby Grass is lovely - a dark pink with the stalks first bloom, turning to fluffy mauve, then finally ivory fluff. Both plants I have were started by seed, and grew bigger than that pic. About 1 foot wide, 1-1/2 feet to 2 feet tall. Not overwhelming large. My ornamental fescue, also planted by seed, got about 1 inch tall! Ha!

Yes, I've saved several 'batches of rocks' in various colors and shapes for the mosaic.

Back on topic (what? did we go off topic? who, us???), my water lilies are brown and mushy. I got most out but those in the middle of the pond were unreachable (and nope, not getting into freezing water!). I sure hope they survive. I'll add some fertilizer tabs in the spring and keep my fingers crossed! What do yours look like now?

Im gonna revive this thread to show off Little Sue she is really starting to do well. my Perry’s Orange Beauty has sent up its first bud hopefully it will be blooming by end of the week. I also have Wanvisa, and Lord Byron? (I think that’s what the fourth one is). I lost my Arc-en-ciel lily it was to deep and couldn’t get enough sunlight in my murky pond this spring. I wanna replace it with a Fuchsia PomPom Lily.

Here are most of my fish.

in my first photo of might notice a lot of petals in my water that is thanks to my seven sisters rose.

Christian, what beautiful lilies! Oh, I love your fish too... I see a koi in there, pretty one : ) Love your shubbies (shubunkins). They are my favorite : ) And what a unique waterfall - I like it!

Pond-murk, it happens, as you've found out : ) I'm sure you've got a healthy stand of algae, which is so good for your fish and a well-balanced pond. As for keeping debris, even beautiful rose petal debris, out of the pond, well, that's a never-ending job, isn't it? I'd rather have the petal problem and those gorgeous roses! They sure are magnificent!

I've not got any new lilies, just the same ones as last year, although they are both doing well and I keep them fertilized with tablets, and the Joey Tomicik is really blooming this year. I discovered a new comet baby earlier... he/she is all white, most likely due to lack of sunlight (shy) and not eating anything but algae, as it won't come to the surface for the good food. Might see some color as it gets used to me... we'll see. Exciting, though!