Green Side Up, Brown Side Down

Tips on Buying Aquatic Plants This Spring

By Rick Osbourne

Twenty years ago, when Charles Thomas and his Lilypons crew was leading the charge, mail-order operations like his were about the only way you could buy aquatic plants. Back then, Thomas and a handful of other mail-order operations supplied water gardening enthusiasts across the country (what there was of them), with water lilies, lotus, water hyacinth, and various other aquatic plants that were being requested by hobbyists at that time.

The Times They Are a-Changin'
But as Bob Dylan predicted way back in the 60s, "The times, they are a-changin'." Now you can buy aquatic plants not only through the mail, but in national chain stores like Home Depot and Lowes. You can also get them in conventional garden retail centers as many are finally beginning to see the water gardening light for the first time. And of course you can buy aquatic plants in those new specialty retail shops that dedicate their entire product line to water gardeners, and all the things they want to buy for their breathtakingly beautiful, naturally balanced aquatic ecosystems.

The Most Bang for Your Buck?
There are a lot of options for anyone in the market for aquatic plants for their pond, but where will you, the water gardening hobbyist with a little taste, culture, and some discretionary funds, get the most for your money? The answer is … it depends on what you want for your money, so let's sort through the possibilities.

For some good, sound, accurate advice that you can bank on when you're ready to purchase aquatic plants this spring, one of the best people you can talk to is Colorado-based plant expert Jim Wullschleger. Jim's been in the business for almost three decades, and he's acutely aware of the various factors to take into consideration when it comes to buying aquatic plants. As Aquascape Designs' Mountain Region Sales Manager for the NurseryPro water gardening line, Jim has a lot of roles, among those being a chief consultant on plants for the company.

You Get What You Pay For
According to Wullschleger, "Like anything else in this world, when it comes to aquatic plants, you get what you pay for. And with plants the main thing you pay for is predictability, dependability, and the time it takes to develop that plant." So for example, if you buy a lily tuber that is pre-packaged in a box of peat moss, usually available through mail order or at many home stores, you'll spend less money than if you bought a potted, growing plant from a garden supplier who's taken the time to cultivate that lily into its blooming stage. For that savings, you'll need to pot and grow the plant yourself.

Forget the Instant Gratification
In other words, when you unpack that tuber, and repot it, the odds of it actually growing in your pond are about 50/50 … maybe. And the odds of it blooming the first year are almost non-existent. So if you're in the market for instant gratification, you'd best take a pass on the "tuber in a box" concept. (This general rule of thumb also goes for any other plant in a pre-developed stage.) When you buy a pre-potted, green and growing plant from any reputable source, the odds of it growing successfully in your pond the first year are close to 100 percent.

A Limited Service and Selection
In home stores, along with your low price, you can also expect to get very little in the way of service or selection. "You'll have a limited variety to choose from, a limited choice of colors (maybe yellow, white, red, and pink), there will be no specially named plant varieties, and no new species to choose from," Wullschleger said.

However, concentrating on a few popular items allows these stores to keep costs down and attract customers on the basis of price. So, if you're a stickler for selection, then you'll want to avoid the chain home store in favor of a local garden center retailer or a pond specialty shop. It'll cost a little more, but you'll have a wide array of plants, colors, and varieties to choose from, and better service and knowledge from the sales staff.

Truth in Advertising and Guarantees
When purchasing through mail order, you'll almost always see a great picture of a beautiful, flowering plant, but too often you'll receive a tuber packed in a box of peat moss in the mail. To be honest, I've never seen anyone use a photo of a tuber in a box to advertise any plant," Wullschleger joked. "They're really selling the sizzle, not the steak, so it pays to ask a lot of questions whenever you're buying plants."

Did you know that plants occasionally come with guarantees? Well they do. But again, that's part of a value added package that will cost a little more money. "And serious guarantees only come from reputable sellers who have been in business for a while, and who plan on being in business for years to come," Wullschleger said.

Different Strokes for Different Folks
Now let's be clear on the fact that we can't say that one source of plants is better than the other. There have been many successful mail-order transactions over the years; otherwise the many popular mail-order outlets like Lilypons wouldn't still be in business. And home stores like Home Depot and Lowes must also be doing something right in their garden departments or else they'd replace aquatic plants with something that generates more money. After all, they didn't get to be big boxers by making bad business decisions.

For the Green Thumb, Do-It-Yourselfer
However, to repeat Wullschleger's warning of wisdom, "When it comes to aquatic plants, you get what you pay for." If you don't pay much, then plan on doing some of the cultivation work, like repotting and cultivating those tubers yourself. But, if you're a born again do-it-yourselfer with a naturally green thumb, then that tuber in a box of peat moss could be absolutely the right thing for you to buy.

For the Brown Thumb Novice
But, if you're a novice who's looking to learn your way around plants, "The first thing you should remember is brown side down, and green side up," Wullschleger said. "When you go to buy plants this spring, you'll probably need a well-qualified and knowledgeable sales person to answer some of your questions. And if you want to increase your odds of growing plants successfully in and around your pond, you'd probably be better off buying a plant whose health and well-being has already been carefully cultivated by the seller, so you don't have to worry about doing it yourself."

10 Questions To Ask When Buying Aquatic Plants

1. When ordering aquatic plants from a mail-order house or on-line, make sure to ask whether you can expect the plant you'll be receiving to look like the plant in the photo when it arrives, or should you expect to get a tuber in a box of peat moss, ready for you to cultivate?
2. If you're buying from a mail-order house or on-line, ask if repotting and planting instructions come with the plant package. By asking these kinds of questions, you'll at least know what to expect when your order arrives.
3. When buying a tuber in a box from a chain home store, make sure to ask what the odds are of it blooming that season, but don't hold your breath until they come up with a believable answer either. Price, not service, is the big boxer's strength.
4. When buying an aquatic plant from a retail garden center, make sure you ask about its light and planting requirements.
5. At a retail garden center or a pond specialty shop, you should expect to find a selection of aquatic plants that you won't find in the home stores, so don't be afraid to ask what other plants they have in stock.
6. At a retail garden center or pond specialty shop, ask if they have a guarantee that their plants will bloom if you fertilize them according to instructions.
7. One of the things you'll want to know before adding a new plant to your pond is, how aggressive it will be in your pond. Water hyacinth for example, has been known to take over a pond in almost no time. If a plant has that tendency, you should know it.
8. In some cases, you may need to ask whether the plant is an annual or a tropical. If it's tropical and you don't live in the tropics, it would be a good idea to ask how to keep them healthy over the winter.
9. If you want to attract certain species of wildlife, such as butterflies or dragonflies, ask which plants will provide that magnetism. If the salesperson doesn't have the answer, you may have to check it out yourself at the local library.
10. Last but not least, regardless of where you're making the purchase, ask how often you should be watering you new plant. If the salesperson does anything other than roll their eyes and laugh, I suggest you buy your new aquatic plants from a different source.