"Phyllis and Jim" wrote in message
oups.com...
Will the rose spike jack up the total nutrients and increase the
algae? My lilies might like some fertilizer.

I don't believe it's those Jobe's spikes because I use them in all the pots
of lilies. There has to be some logical answer for the glop in this one
pond. Actually I'm not even sure it's the soil in the lily pots. We
thought it might be runoff from the lawn but we fixed the berm with
reinforced concrete last spring, and the problem immediately returned. That
pond's filter matting is constantly clogging with this dark green algae.
The blocks themselves under the filter matting are also loaded with this
stuff.

Most of my lilies, however, are loose on the cement floor of the
pond.
Any good thoughts about fertilizing them? Or do I just assume
they will grab nutrients from the water?

Derek has no problem growing his lilies that way, but they didn't do well
for me at all unless potted and fertilized. If I want nice leaves and
flowers I have to grow them in pots with fertalizer. I'm going to see how
they do in the sandy gravel mix with fertilizer. I don't use a whole spike
per pot. I break them up and use a little more than half the spike. These
are the large size black plastic pond plant pots.

My water is hard and alkaline. I add Potassium to the water itself, and
nothing else.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
ISP: Hughes.net
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