i am in the process of furnishing my 400 gallon pond with plants. i would really like a couple of water lilies as i find them very beautiful and since my pond is shallow (only 1' deep) i need surface coverage to protect the fish from predators. here is the problem: it is late march and my pond receives 2 hours max dappled light in the morning. the rest of the day the pond is submerged in shade. of course we are still just coming out of winter and i am sure the pond will be sunnier in summer but i have no idea how much direct sun it will receive. i was thinking of getting some shade tolerant lilies such as virginia, james brydon and panama pacific but i'm wondering if there will be enough light for these plants to bloom, let along grow. i was wondering if others have had experience with shady ponds and growing plants?

the only plants i have so far are yellow floating heart and frogbit. both of them were doing poor in the pond - leaves turning yellow and dying off. so i moved these plants into containers in a sunnier location in my yard and they are doing much better. i also think my pond has a high PH because it is made of concrete and may not have been coated with a sealant.

another somewhat related question i have is: i live in zone 9 and the coldest our winters ever get are around 32 degrees farenheit. it never freezes here. can i overwinter tropical water lilies in my pond? i was told i could by one expert but i just want to verify this.

thanks, carolyn

I have a few smaller ponds in the strong shade and plants really don't grow there. Most of my ponds are in partial sun but get a good amount of sunlight. There are so many variables that I can't say how certain plants will do in your pond so just try some that are supposed to be more shade tolerant. You may find that you can get some waterlilies to survive but not flower. My plant lists can give you some ideas for plants that are supposed to be more shade tolerant (marginals are at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/marginal.htm ). I'm not that good with plants at all so I hope you can find better information from someone who has a pond in shade with success. I'm the kind of person who doesn't have the will to cut down any trees, etc. but maybe you can prune some of them to get more sun for the pond?

"the only plants i have so far are yellow floating heart and frogbit. both of them were doing poor in the pond - leaves turning yellow and dying off. so i moved these plants into containers in a sunnier location in my yard and they are doing much better."

They also will do better when things warm up. I have frogbit in my aquarium, and it survives despite artificial lighting.

"i also think my pond has a high PH because it is made of concrete and may not have been coated with a sealant."

Have you tested the pH? If it's over 8 or so, you may want to drain the pond and either seal it or scrub it down with some acid washes [muriatic (hydrochloric) acid which you can get at a pool store or vinegar (acetic acid) if nothing else can be found.] and water rinses until the concrete has leached most of its pH-increasing chemicals. They make spray and paint on sealants for any surface to be made pond-safe.

"another somewhat related question i have is: i live in zone 9 and the coldest our winters ever get are around 32 degrees farenheit. it never freezes here. can i overwinter tropical water lilies in my pond? i was told i could by one expert but i just want to verify this."

I think it depends on the variety. Some tropical water lilies are more hardy than others! They overwinter in different ways too depending on the variety. The one I have forms hard nuts over the winter. I bring them indoors but if your pond is relatively warm (at least compared to mine), they may overwinter outdoors there. I think, as with testing which plants will grow well in your shady pond, this is something you will have to test out. I think you would find that many kinds of tropical water lilies can overwinter in your pond assuming they do okay in the shade but that some varieties are a bit more sensitive.

thanks for the info robyn. unfortunately, the pond belongs to my mother so i can't cut down trees or trim bushes around the pond. part of the problem is also that the pond is facing north and right up against the house. so most of the time the house itself shades the pond more than the landscaping. since it is a concrete pond, it can't be moved to another location which is most unfortunate. the pond was built without any knowledge about ponds. it was a pretty sorry sight when i first saw it - like green pea soup, so much algae you couldn't see the fish. no pond plants except some water hyacinth that were added during the summer but died as the temperature got colder. needless to say, the hyacinth never bloomed. after 3 months of hard work i finally have the pond crystal clear, have added a filter and now beginning to buy plants. my mother and i really love the water lilies, especially the tropical ones, and would love to have a few. i have been doing a ton of research online since the beginning of this year but haven't really found much info on growing lilies in shady ponds. i did find one encouraging url that mentioned some people having success growing water lilies in mostly shady ponds, many of which were flowering as well. apparently fertilizer plays a large role in whether lilies bloom or not. i will give it a try with the shade tolerant varieties mentioned. i will let you know how the plants do. hopefully the info can help others in my same situation.

- carolyn

If you say the pond was full of algae, then that's a good sign! Algae are plants too so if they grew, so too can some other pond plants! Hopefully the pond can catch enough sun to keep some plants alive. Perhaps if you call some of the places that sell aquatic plants, they can guide you more on which varieties of water lilies do best in the shade and shallow water.