Are water lilies a good choice for a Koi pond?
And how should I prevent my Koi from uprooting them? Are there special types of basket you can plant them in?James David, Dorset
Answer: Many Koi keepers have great success with lilies in Koi ponds although I would suspect that they are a minority.
Many Koi ponds at somedepths of over two metres are too deep for most lilies. Some vigorous whitevarieties like Nymphaea 'Colossea' and particularly N. 'Gladstoniana' wouldcope. One catalogue has N. 'Gladsoniana' as tolerant of 2.5 metres! But onaverage most of the bigger lilies are happiest at less than 1 metre.Lilies of this size and power are gross feeders and are great for mopping upexcess nitrates in the pool whilst providing useful pool cover. However marks against are that they provide too much cover and that any other livingthing in the water upsets the refined control that some enthusiasts like tohave on their pool water chemistry.
Really the main problems of Koi with lilies result from the inquisitiveness of the fish. Lilies hate being disturbed. Leaf stems andflower bud stalks are easily damaged by fish rubbing up against them. The fish also love to delve in the soil in the containers in which the lilies are planted, giving the pool water an unattractive beef consomme look.
Successful Koi/lily pools generally evolve from small fry and goodstrong plants starting off together. Introducing big Koi into a newenvironment needs certain precautions:* Mulch the lily baskets with 25mm or larger heavy pebbles to inhibit noseyintrusion.*
I have seen lilies successfully fenced off from koi by being surrounded byweighted circles of netlon plastic netting.*Make a separate area for planting lilies in. A barrier of block work orstone that allows the free flow of water, but is high enough within the waterto keep out the fish.
At the 2002 Hampton Court Flower Show, Anglo AquariumPlant built a Koi pool in a garden designed by Amanda Broughton that had asubmerged rim or wall just below the water surface. On the outside of the rim, lilies flourished in florid abandon, whilst inside Koi super subs cruised in ignorant bliss.
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