February 2012       

 
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Beautiful Pond Plants and Great Water Garden Ideas. 
Selling pond plants online and in-store year-round from Southern, California.
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  Now is the Time to Get Your Pond Ready for Spring!

Buy Fresh and Beautiful Water Lily Plants

Now that the weather is warming, it is time to think about healthy water lily that will beautify your large or small pond.  Full growing instructions included.  Both hardy varieties for cold climates and tropical varieties varieties available.  I am adding new lilies to the online store each day. 

Colors Include:  
▪  White ▪  Red
▪  Yellow ▪  Peach
▪  Purple ▪  Pink
 
How to Winter Over Water Lettuce  

Wintry Conditions: Frost is a killer. When water lettuce freezes it does not recover. When there is a threat of frost or freeze, water lettuce should be covered or brought indoors. However, remember that they do need sunshine during the day.

Mildew: It is wise to cover your pond to protect the water and plants from freezing. However, covering your pond will also promote mold and mildew growth on your water lettuce plants. This is also a killer and your water lettuce will simply rot away. If you plan to winter over your water lettuce. An indoor water garden lightbox
is a good choice, or install a fan to circulate the air and keep the mildew away.   Read Article: How to Grow Water Lettuce


Build a Garden Lightbox

This really works! 
In the cold seasons tropical plants need extra care.  Some pond plants (such as frogbit) will grow just fine with a regular florescent light and others will survive outdoors even in freezing temperatures.  Other more tropical plants need a little extra help with lighting, heat, and humidity.  Water hyacinth is one such plant, and a garden light-box can help! 
Read Article: How to Make a Lightbox


How to Winter Over Tropical Water Lily

It is good for the lilies to go through 1 or 2 frosts. The cool weather helps force dormancy. After the first or second frost remove the plants from the pond. Put the pots in a cool but protected place such as the garage and let the pots dry out somewhat until the soil is barely moist. Wrap each pot in a garbage bag and close the top of the bag so that they will not dry out much more.  Do not close the top tightly; this way the plant will be able to breathe just a little. Sealing up the bag tight will also promote mold and mildew which will...   Read Article: How to Winter Over Tropical Water Lily


 

Brian's Tahoe Greenhouse

This is my friend, Brian, in South Lake Tahoe, Northern California.  Tahoe is located at 6,200 feet in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Zone 6-7.  Temperatures in the summertime can get down to 32 degrees!  And, it is known to snow in Tahoe any month of the year.  But this doesn't stop Brian.  His tomato plants grow strong inside his greenhouse.  The inside is heated with Christmas tree lights.  The frame is constructed with branches from local area trees.  The siding is 6 mil thick clear visqueen plastic; which is stiff plastic sheeting used to insulate windows.  One side of his greenhouse is on hinges that open like a door.  This is certainly an attractive greenhouse, Brian!     Find out which type of greenhouse is right for your climate zone...

 

  Getting Winter Ready

Autumn is the time to start getting serious about protecting your pond for the upcoming winter season.  An easy way to do this is by building a hoop house to shelter your small water garden.  The hoop house design on the left uses PVC pipe and 6 mil. thick plastic sheeting.  The PVC pipe can be inserted inside the pond or anchored down outside the pond into the ground using stakes that fit into the ends of the pipe.   

Upgrade for Severe Climate:  In more severe climates, I recommend  using 2 layers of of 6 mil. thick plastic sheeting with 1 inch bubble wrap used as insulation in between the layers of plastic.  If you have heavy snowfall, heavy duty chicken wire can be used as reinforcement over the hoop house. 

Heating the Hoop House:  You will want to keep the climate inside the hoop house above freezing.  Hanging large C7 or C9 Christmas tree lights will raise the indoor air temperature by 20°.  These can easily be purchased on eBay and at Etsy.com.  In colder climates, a cold frame house with glass walls is a wiser choice along with an oil heater.  

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