La iris in pond not blooming

I had my La iris in the greenhouse for the winter and put it back in the pond in March. It's still not blooming and there are some dead leaves on them. The La iris we had planted in the gravel in the pond bloomed some. Most of the other plants are doing OK. The yellow snowflake that we just bought has bloomed some. I also just bought an arum that has some yellow leaves on it. We have not used fertlizer because I haven't found any that says it's organic. Some people have told us that if you have a healthy pond you don't need fertilizer. So is it just too early for the La iris to bloom or is there something wrong? Since the rest of the yard is maintained organically, it makes sense to me to do the pond the same way. Thanks for your help.
Mary Lee

Mary Lee, I haven't tried to grow these beauties because I don't have a pond (yet) so all I can offer in possible help is this site:
http://www.louisianas.org/ Good luck! Yuska

Thanks Yuska, I had a very brief look at that site. It looks very interesting. DH wants the computer now. So I'll get back to you.

Silver--they are hardy...probably didn't get enough sun in the greenhouse. They need full sun in the winter.
Debbie

Well, it's beginning to make sense. If I leave them in the pond and we have a freeze, are they still OK in the water. Last year we had a couple of freezes where we had some ice on the pond.

They are hardy; they will enjoy being in the pond in the winter and getting the extra sun. When they start lookin "ratty"--starting now--you can take the pot out and put it behind the greenhouse in the shade! A perfect plant (and put a canna in its place--I used to switch them out when I had a pond)!
Debbie

Hey, what a plan! How far below the surface of the water can a canna be? Our pond is 14 " deep. Can I just set the pot on the bottom of the pond? Or does it need to be on a rock? And what do you suggest for fertilizer? I started using RoseGlo on my roses and just about anything that blooms. But I don't know what that would do to pond water.

Go to a pond place up there...or look on line....they actually have like these big "pills" you push down in the soil and it slow releases the nutrients. Both cannas and LA iris' I used to put on cinder blocks with the "rim of the pot 2-3 inches above the top of the surface. Are you in the addy? I just found some called "Lilytabs" 10-14-8 from Lilyponds nursery in Brookshire...now they are definitely NOT organic. Are you in the addy? I'll drop them in the mail for you...they are just "gathering dust" in the garage.

Debbie

Yes I am organic, but confused. Somebody, wish I could remember who, told us that if you have a healthy pond you don't need fertilizer. But maybe I'll just try some sunshine and see if that solves the problem. Although it seems this is not the right week for sun considering all the rain we've had. Not that I'm complaining mind you.:) But maybe if they can soak up some sun then I'll get some blooms. I know what Almeria looks like, but I have never seen Delta Star bloom. I bought it after it had bloomed. It just makes sense to me, that if your garden is organic, your pond should be also. But thanks for the offer of the fertilizer.

At the time I had the pond, I was converting over to all organic.

Debbie, did you move away from the house that had the pond or did you fill it in? It's so much fun to have a pond. I hope we never have to fill it in.

Actually there'a story behind the pond...It was at this house...an ex-husband built it and jerry-rigged alot of the electrical stuff. I had some huge goldfish, which I loved dearly (they were even reproducing in the pond) came home from a weekend of out of town work in 100+ heat and the pump had failed due to the electrical set-up. And my fish were dead due to lack of oxygen in that hot weather. I had a pretty high powered water circulation system in the pond. I was heartbroken. The maintenance and "fixing" of the pond problem was more than I could do alone, with a 7 year old. So I did fill it in. I still have a 5' UV zapper sitting in the garage and huge filtering system, just waiting for a home. But this is all ancient history now, the pond was about 9 years ago...I've been in the house for 12 years. I'd really like to have another pond, but done right. But I don't see that happening in the near future....I'm steadily removing turf grass and building beds in the back!

Debbie

Wow, that is a story! DH did ours, and I hope did it right. But there's a lot more to do, because we plan on expanding it. We just took the bathtub out of our bathroom and plan on including it in the expanded system - one of these years. We have to finish the bathroom first.:)