Hey Bonnie! the weather man keeps threatening to snow on us. Right now the
little snow cloud appears on Saturday and if doesn't snow it is going to rain.
Saturday is the regional competition for DI, the team I coach Nov. thru April.
My team must make their props from newspaper just before they go on (an
improvisational problem) but other teams have huge cardboard, plywood, paper,
cloth props. ak! Could be a mess!

The rock moving - I am taking rocks from a pond I had under an arbor full of
honeysuckle. The original idea looked really nice! Then the arbor (cheap
craftstore mistake) collapsed under the honeysuckle from heck. We pulled the
container out and now I'm moving the rocks that went around the edge. I plan on
planting the lilies that got pulled up during the great fish adoption and
replanting them in two large lily baskets with pea gravel and BIG rocks on top.
(Another exercise for the back and arms!)


k30a

Hey Bonnie! the weather man keeps threatening to snow on us. Right now the
little snow cloud appears on Saturday and if doesn't snow it is going to rain.
Saturday is the regional competition for DI, the team I coach Nov. thru April.
My team must make their props from newspaper just before they go on (an
improvisational problem) but other teams have huge cardboard, plywood, paper,
cloth props. ak! Could be a mess!

The rock moving - I am taking rocks from a pond I had under an arbor full of
honeysuckle. The original idea looked really nice! Then the arbor (cheap
craftstore mistake) collapsed under the honeysuckle from heck. We pulled the
container out and now I'm moving the rocks that went around the edge. I plan on
planting the lilies that got pulled up during the great fish adoption and
replanting them in two large lily baskets with pea gravel and BIG rocks on top.
(Another exercise for the back and arms!)


k30a

Hi Bonnie,

This was hilarious, but one thing I can suggest if you don't want to do it
again next year is that I found some plastic pots for my water lilies at
Home Depot that had stiff but removable hanging hooks. When fall came, I
reattached the hooks and was able to guide the lilies down to the bottom of
the pond by hanging on to the hooks.

Today I pulled them up again just by grabbing the hooks with a metal rake
and pulling them up. I hardly even got my hands wet.

I couldn't find any pots at all on the Home Depot web page, but if you
wanted to repot your lilies, you might look for something like this.

Paul

"Bonnie Espenshade" wrote in message
...
Lee Brouillet wrote:
So, there I was, standing by the pond, surveying my domain:

The lilies look a little shabby from the last frost, and they're putting
out
new shoots, and they have to be repotted and fertilized, so - I should
pull
them out of the pond, yes? Checked the water temp: 70*, not good - but
not
too bad. Gotta find my swim suit so I don't scare the neighbors . . .
ahh,
here it is. Step in, start to pull it up: tug, tug, YANK, pull some
more -
damn! how do these things shrink so much over the winter??? Stuff,
stuff,
stuff some more . . . well, at least everything's covered. Back out to
the
pond; call hubby to "spot" me while I'm in the pond (you're gonna do
WHAT???), check the temp again (yep, still 70* - it didn't get any
warmer!).
Start to ease into the water . . . up to my knees (not too bad!), up to
my
thighs (ooo! this is a bit colder than I thought it would be); fish
curious
and checkin' me out . . . one more step down (careful, the bottom is
slipperier than goose stuff!); water above my waist (Damn! this stuff is
COLD!), one more step over to the lilies and . . . ker-splash! under I
go!
Back up to the surface, arms flailing, hair plastered over my eyes,
expletives exploding from me and blistering the air in the most
imaginative
and impossible arrangements - hubby rolling around on the porch
*howling* at
me, fish spooked and stacked on top of each other at the far end of the
pond, and I STILL had to get the bloody lilies off the bottom!!!
Gathered
what was left of my composure (not much!), reached down . . . a little
farther down, ahhh, there's the rim - hook my fingers on the rim, drag
it
over a bit, there it is - got it now! pick it up . . . and it slid outta
my
hands right onto my foot! (repeat expletives!) Hubby now wiping tears
from
his eyes, he's laughing so hard (hmph, I'll take care of him LATER!).
Got
the pot back up to the surface and reached for the edge (peooey! what
happened to the "sweet" smell???), hubby grabs the pot and takes it from
me,
promptly dragging all the long, cold, wet, algae-encrusted leaves and
stems
all over me! ACCCK! And there's still one pot to go!

Eventually, I was able to crawl out of the pond . . . Please tell me
there's
an easier way to do this????

Lee



Hi Lee,
I suggested that my DH put a handrail down into the pond
and he just said "yes dear" and smiled. I suggest that you
get a pair of beach shoes. They give you a much better
footing.
--
Bonnie
NJ

Why do you repot your lilies each year?

On 16 Mar 2003 03:17:21 GMT, (LRobi31070) wrote:

Why do you repot your lilies each year?

Maybe not every year, but when they grow too big for their pot they
don't bloom as much.

Regards,

Hal

Thanks. I was under the impression i should do it every year. And i havent
been-only when they outgrow the pot, as you said.

After you find your pond shoes next year :~, you can have solved
the problem below by trimming all your lily leaves and stems back to the
crown in the fall with a set of aquatic trimmers on a long handle to avoid
the cold water. This also cuts way back on decaying vegetation on the pond
bottom over winter
Gale :~)
hubby grabs the pot and takes it from me, promptly dragging all the long,
cold, wet, algae-encrusted leaves and stems all over me! ACCCK!
. Please tell me there's an easier way to do this????

Lee

I have a home-made lily stem trimmer made from PVC that I use throughout the
year to keep the plant trimmed. However, I live in zone 9B, so my lilies
never actually went dormant, just slowed down a bit. But even in 70 degree
water, that's COLD to be draggin' over your back! I had a fluke attack last
year: the pond's squeeky clean this year, and no dead things whatsoever!

Lee

"Gale Pearce" wrote in message
...
After you find your pond shoes next year :~, you can have solved
the problem below by trimming all your lily leaves and stems back to the
crown in the fall with a set of aquatic trimmers on a long handle to
avoid
the cold water. This also cuts way back on decaying vegetation on the pond
bottom over winter
Gale :~)
hubby grabs the pot and takes it from me, promptly dragging all the long,
cold, wet, algae-encrusted leaves and stems all over me! ACCCK!
. Please tell me there's an easier way to do this????

Lee

Hi Lee
70 degree water!!!!!!! - I only wish mine was that cold
:~))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Gale :~)
"Lee Brouillet" wrote in message
...
I have a home-made lily stem trimmer made from PVC that I use throughout
the
year to keep the plant trimmed. However, I live in zone 9B, so my lilies
never actually went dormant, just slowed down a bit. But even in 70 degree
water, that's COLD to be draggin' over your back! I had a fluke attack
last
year: the pond's squeeky clean this year, and no dead things whatsoever!

Lee

"Gale Pearce" wrote in message
...
After you find your pond shoes next year :~, you can have
solved
the problem below by trimming all your lily leaves and stems back to the
crown in the fall with a set of aquatic trimmers on a long handle to
avoid
the cold water. This also cuts way back on decaying vegetation on the
pond
bottom over winter
Gale :~)
hubby grabs the pot and takes it from me, promptly dragging all the
long,
cold, wet, algae-encrusted leaves and stems all over me! ACCCK!
. Please tell me there's an easier way to do this????

Lee