Reel McKoi wrote:


"Derek Broughton" wrote in message
...

brevity snip

But I tend to agree with you, anyway. I haven't fertilized since my very
early water-gardening days, and I get more blooms than ever.
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This fascinates me and has since you first mentioned it. Your lilies are
feeding on something. How often do you clean your pond?
I mean pump it out and refill it

Ye gods! I wouldn't dream of doing that. There's a pump on the bottom that
pumps the mulm up into the veggie filter. Pretty well all the maintenance
is in the veggie filter.

Is it just fish
waste feeding the lilies or is there runoff from the lawn?

The pond was built by digging a hole, and building up the sides with the
dirt from the hole, so there's no possibility of runoff from the lawn (and
I don't fertilize, anyway). There's some blown dirt - its on the edge of a
farm, and come spring the ice is usually pretty dirty. However, very few
trees, so no leaf debris.

Are there other plants in your pond or just the lilies?

Not many. Anacharis, parrot feather and irises. A number of bog plants in
the bog.

The "fertilizer" fueling them has to be coming from somewhere.

Fish, and bare-root lilies to maximize their ability to extract nutrients
from the water.
--
derek
- Unless otherwise noted, I speak for myself, not rec.ponds.moderated
moderators.