sending plants to ohio fish rescue

[cara mason]

Hi fellow fishkeepers i would like to send josh and big rich at Ohio Fish Rescue a Victoria Amazonia for there indoor monster pond thing is i am in uk and don't think us customs would allow me to ship one into America so need to source one in the us hopefully Cory can do it for me if not do any of you know were i can buy one 

[KBOzzie59]

OMG those are huge!  I see seeds available for sale on Amazon.

[PlaneFishGuy]

Nature is amazing - that thing is massive. 

 

[gardenman]

Trickers Water Gardens sells them. They're pricey at $80+ each. They're very challenging to grow as they need an enormous amount of really good soil. A 6' diameter two feet or deeper pot is typically recommended if not planted directly into the pond bottom. Think of how many times you've seen a 6' diameter flower pot.  Some people use a pool within their pond for the pot. A smallish swimming pool holds just about the right amount of soil for one of those giants. They're a very impressive plant, but generally best left for the pros to grow. Longwood Gardens has one outside in their lily pond area each summer. You need an enormous pond with lots of light (something the OFR doesn't necessarily have in their indoor pool) and a mountain of soil. Buying the plant is by far the cheapest part of the whole operation. If you've got the space, the light, the warm water, and a largely unlimited budget, then go for it. Otherwise, you're better off admiring them from afar. It's kind of like trying to keep an elephant as a house pet. It's a neat idea, but largely impractical. And even as large as the OFR pool is, it would cramp one of those lilies. They get huge.

[Andy's Fish Den]

Those are definitely a sight to see in person. The zoo near me has one that they put in a large outdoor pond in the summers. When my kids were younger, I wanted to put one of my sons on one of the pads and take a picture, but my wife said no. And for once I listened LOL