A Lily Pad Question Answered
A question from a member:
Well I must tell you, my pond is in and done. I just love my water fall, it is sooo relaxing to sit out there and be relaxed by the sound. I have a few questions about my aquatic plants. Do the lily pad leaves turn yellow normally? I have had maybe 4 leaves turn and die with some black spots, I don't see anything eating them. Also the buds from my lily pad flowers, sometimes they don't mature all the way and open, but rather the stem curls and they turn down into the water and rot. One more, I found an odd something, adhering to my pickerel rush leaf. Perhaps something laid eggs, it is about 2 inches long, about the side of a little finger around, maybe smaller, and all full of little bumps, beige colored????
Have you ever put tadpoles in your pond, any suggestions?
Anne Pierce
Answer from Pamela J. Stephens Schlett:
The leaves on a water lily will turn yellow and brown and eventually die off and get mushy, as part of the normal life cycle. But you should always see one or two new leaves for every leaf that dies off naturally. The black spots however, are not normal. Do you have water splashing on the leaves? Water droplets will magnify the sun and burn the leaves with little round holes.
Another possibility is that the plant is suffering a form of root rot. How deep is the top of the pot below the water surface? The flower buds dying off may be from the same reason as the leaves. So water depth is very important. Lilies need at least 10-18" of water over the top of their roots (or the top of the pot). If you pull out the plant and feel the roots, they should be firm like a potato, not mushy. If the roots are firm and the water level is correct, I would look at any products you are putting in the pond. Some algae formulas will adversely effect the good plants too.
Last I would look at nourishment, maybe you are under or over fertilizing the plant. Lilies are very heavy feeders and do best with monthly fertilizing (with an aquatic plant fertilizer tablet). It could also be a combination of factors such as parasites, rot and water quality. Water lilies do not like high pH, (over 9.0 makes some varieties go dormant).
The mass you spoke of is probably snail eggs. Depending on the type of snail, you may not want to keep the mass. Tropical snails can cause some of the damage to the leaves you wrote about. Frogs lay clusters of eggs in long strings that form a mass. Fish lay individual eggs that group and from a cluster. If the substance looks like clear jelly, it is probably snails. Hope I helped.
Pamela J. Stephens Schlett
General Manager, Co-Owner
Stephens Garden Creations, Inc.
Well I must tell you, my pond is in and done. I just love my water fall, it is sooo relaxing to sit out there and be relaxed by the sound. I have a few questions about my aquatic plants. Do the lily pad leaves turn yellow normally? I have had maybe 4 leaves turn and die with some black spots, I don't see anything eating them. Also the buds from my lily pad flowers, sometimes they don't mature all the way and open, but rather the stem curls and they turn down into the water and rot. One more, I found an odd something, adhering to my pickerel rush leaf. Perhaps something laid eggs, it is about 2 inches long, about the side of a little finger around, maybe smaller, and all full of little bumps, beige colored????
Have you ever put tadpoles in your pond, any suggestions?
Anne Pierce
Answer from Pamela J. Stephens Schlett:
The leaves on a water lily will turn yellow and brown and eventually die off and get mushy, as part of the normal life cycle. But you should always see one or two new leaves for every leaf that dies off naturally. The black spots however, are not normal. Do you have water splashing on the leaves? Water droplets will magnify the sun and burn the leaves with little round holes.
Another possibility is that the plant is suffering a form of root rot. How deep is the top of the pot below the water surface? The flower buds dying off may be from the same reason as the leaves. So water depth is very important. Lilies need at least 10-18" of water over the top of their roots (or the top of the pot). If you pull out the plant and feel the roots, they should be firm like a potato, not mushy. If the roots are firm and the water level is correct, I would look at any products you are putting in the pond. Some algae formulas will adversely effect the good plants too.
Last I would look at nourishment, maybe you are under or over fertilizing the plant. Lilies are very heavy feeders and do best with monthly fertilizing (with an aquatic plant fertilizer tablet). It could also be a combination of factors such as parasites, rot and water quality. Water lilies do not like high pH, (over 9.0 makes some varieties go dormant).
The mass you spoke of is probably snail eggs. Depending on the type of snail, you may not want to keep the mass. Tropical snails can cause some of the damage to the leaves you wrote about. Frogs lay clusters of eggs in long strings that form a mass. Fish lay individual eggs that group and from a cluster. If the substance looks like clear jelly, it is probably snails. Hope I helped.
Pamela J. Stephens Schlett
General Manager, Co-Owner
Stephens Garden Creations, Inc.
