Black Princess Water Lily

[clm]

Went out shopping at lunch and ended up buying a red water lily called Black Princess. I have never had any luck with reds the 2 times I've tried them before, so 3rd shot is a charm right. Anybody have this lily? Does it need anything special to not die on me right off the bat :lol: I dont have trouble with any colour except red....same problem in the garden, I can grow any celmatis you throw at me, but don't give me a white one, I'll kill it every time. :banghead:

Cindy

[Jackie Ramo]

Oddly enought the white clems give me difficulties as well.

[flywheel]

Sorry, I only seem to have good luck with white lilies, I do however, grow some nice green algae. :HAHA:

[clm]

Too funny, I have a green algae thumb as well :lol:

Algae is to water gardens what danelions are to lawns. Everybody who has a lawn can grow them and everybody who has a pond can grow algae.

Cindy

[BonnieIN]

I have Black Princess and it's stunning!
Just pot and fertilize as you do other hardy waterlilies and it will grow and bloom.

I've only had it almost two years now but so far it doesn't burn in full sun like some dark reds will.

Good luck and be sure to share those blooms!

Bonnie

(excuse the leaves in the pix, this was right after a storm)

[clm]

That's a very nice pic. I'll be happy if I get just one bloom like that from it this summer.

Cindy

[flywheel]

That is nice Bonnie, good luck Cindy.

[marla]

I don't have that one either, I do have Almost Black, it's similar. I have heard lots of people say that the dark reds do tend to get sun burned. I only got a couple blooms on my Almost Black last year and sad thing is they mostly bloomed while I was at work.

[clm]

It finally bloomed. Opened up on Sunday. It's the most robust red I've ever had in the pond. Normally I get a couple of tiny pads and no flowers and this one has sent up loads of pads and a nice big flower so far. Even if I only get the one flower off it this year, it'll be more than any of my other previous reds. :HAHA:

Cindy

[Jackie Ramo]

So where is the picture!!!! Those of us with few blooms this year need pictures.

[clm]

I'll post a picture when I get home tonight, it really is sooooo pretty.
My white lily has flowered non stop, the yellow seems to be picking up steam now too. The poor lotus whose main tuber had the huge hole in it when I removed it from the pond has sent up a lot of leaves now. No flowers but I'm just happy it's growing.

Cindy

[Jackie Ramo]

My white has been pretty prolific but not as much as some years, 3 blooms at a time is the most. The two reds have had 3 blooms between them all summer. The yellow now in a holding pot had one small bloom and I think the racoons ate the treasure that Bonnie sent me two years ago. With all the filter problems I've been having this year you'd think the lilies would be happier.

[clm]

Is it just the veggie filter you're having trouble with? Your main filter is okay isn't it?

I had to fence off the higher bog from the puppies. Bentley was using it as a personal wading pool and tearing up all the plants. :doh: The pond wasn't clearing and the algae bloom just kept going. Now the water is crystal clear again and Bentley instead digs up the watercress in the pond pots :banghead: He's a handful this one.

Cindy

[Jackie Ramo]

Mostly the veggie filter but last week I drained the main filter into the pond... darmn check valve was stuck open with caddishfly larvae. How they can build there is beyond me.

The darn veggie pump is now pulling small bits of gravel up off the pond bottom and clogging. Bad enough when it was just algae!!!

Can almost see the bottom today, so something is sure to go wrong :banghead:

[clm]

Can almost see the bottom today, so something is sure to go wrong :banghead:

:HAHA: Yep, that's how mines been all summer. You just get it looking pristine and they spawn and tear watercress and duckweed all over the pond, or Baxter knocks Bentley into the pond and he decides to dig in a few pots while he's there. :HAHA:

Cindy

[Jackie Ramo]

Time we had a update picture or two of the double menace. Bet they have grown.

[clm]

Here's a pic of why my canna does so bad this year. Bentley loves to eat it. The little guy is going to the vet this morning for his last shots, then all the beasties are done for the year. 4 cats and 2 dogs makes for an expensive year at the vet. :doh: A single shot of Baxter, one of Bentley and then the lily and a pic of the 2 boys from this morning.

Cindy

[Jackie Ramo]

OMG They are sooooo adorable. Standing there just looking for trouble.

With just the two pups the vet bill can be high. We always took Skip on his birthday in January but then we got Buddy in January so both end up going together. Skip doesn't get shots anymore and we will debate Buddy this January when his shots are due, but both get blood work as they are raw fed. Skip had his teeth done last year and now they want to do blood work 2 x a year.

That is a very nice lily. Will have to put it on the ever growing list of wants for lilies.

[clm]

I have to debate the cats shots with the vet all the time. My 3 girls are all indoor cats, so I only want them done every 3 years. The big indoor/outdoor male, he gets done every year....he was fighting with something this morning. I haven't seen him yet, but I heard the fight. Good thing he's fixed or he'd be looking for fights. As it is, he just sits and waits for some poor unsuspecting cat to wander onto his turf. I just hope he comes home looking better than he did after the last tangle he got into, he's over 10 years old now and while he's very large, he's a little slower. I had to keep him in for a couple of days after the last scrap, mind you he had to have tangled with a raccoon the last time, he was a mess.

Cindy

[Jackie Ramo]

I am not sure about cats as I haven't had one in years but Dogs vaccines are good for 3 years if you vet uses that type and not the old type. That is why we will debate Buddy come January, it will be 3 years as the vet counts and 2 years the way I count :doh:

Actually most think that the vacines are good for life once the boosters are finished and that we are over medicating our pets. Studies are ongoing but so far they have not convinced the law makers.

The good news is we don't have raccoon rabies in Toronto yet. Must be a big old tom to take on a raccoon or perhaps like Buddy, cute but not very bright to put his nose up a skunks butt.

[BonnieIN]

Glad that Black Princess finally bloomed for you.. don't you just love the color?

I just took our Dog (Smokey, the 2 yr old Lab-x ) and our Cat (Phoebe, our 1 yr old ??) to the vet yesterday for their shots.

I had the option to get a one yr or three yr rabies shot for Phoebe so of course I took the 3 yr because she doesn't like to go bye-bye like Smokey!

[Jackie Ramo]

Bonnie, I'm glad you took those poor things to the vets. They look exhausted and perhaps need vitamins for a pick me up :lol:

[BonnieIN]

Jackie I wish I would have weighed Phoebe when we first got (found) her.

It was a very rainy day last year on June 7 and DH was coming home from work and right beside the road was this little kitty... soaking wet and sooo skinny.
Poor lil girl had to be only 3-4 weeks old and for the first 2 days I thought she was going to die.

Day by day she got stronger and now has become the pudgey girl that she is! (btw, have you ever had a CAT that begs at the dinner table?)

The 3rd dog is our "pikey" , Spike our 15 yr old American Eskimo X. (His Mommy was full blooded and ran away for a few days and came home pregnant)
He has very bad arthritis, hard hearing and cataracts so he has his good days and bad.

(Cindy, I apologize for taking over your thread)

[Jackie Ramo]

Bonnie, I had a 22 pound cat who stole a porkchop off a guests plate !wow! I told him if he couldn't defend his dinner he desereved to go without :yup:

I hear you on the old one. Skipper is 13.5 years now and going deaf and blind with a bad back etc still he acts like a pup when he's having a good day.

Those pets of yours need more exercise, I've never seen such lazy critters.

Cindy should post new pics of her pups

[marla]

Bonnie, love the pictures. I have a siamese that goes 20lbs. if I ignore his cries for food he starts picking on one of the other cats, till I get up and then he runs straight for the food dish. Miss having the dogs around, most of the time but it is nice to be able to have a bit more freedom when it comes to vacation planning.

[clm]

Bonnie, you have the most comfortable looking animals. No stress there :HAHA:

The lily has sent up 2 more flower buds, I'm a happy camper, this red might just be a keeper. The colour is amazing. My yellow has finally gotten it's act together and is blooming 4 and 5 blooms at a time instead of one or 2, the white of course has bloomed it's heart out all summer. Bentley loves to gnaw the petals off the ones he can reach, along with yanking out watercress. :doh:

I'll post some more puppy pics soon.

Cindy