Water lily is a common name for a genus of aquatics called nymphea. The water lily's scientific family is Nympheaceae
of the order Nymphaeales. About 70 species of lilies exist and are divided into tropical water lilies, hardy water lilies
and night blooming water lilies - that bloom at night, of course. The night bloomer is a tropical lily, not hardy where it
freezes.
Most people love hardy water lilies and everyone can have them. I have seen them growing in Nymph Lake in Rocky Mountain
National Park at 12,000' up in the air.
Growing tropical water lilies
Tropical water lilies are grown in the tropical climates of our world. We grow them because we can, I think. They are beautiful with bloom stalks shooting in the air almost a foot with a intensely colored flower waving at the end at the slightest breeze. Most are aromatic and make the garden smell of tropical paradises that most of us never visit except in our back yards.
Note the tree frog making himself at home in this water lily bloom.
All water lilies need a minimum of 6 hours of sun daily. Put the pots at least 18" below the surface of the water.
Fertilizing tropical water lilies
Tropical water lily leaves reach the top of the pond in May after being dormant during the colder shorter days of winter. That is when we begin fertilizing. Water lilies are heavy feeders and will love food at least once a month. I have been known to feed every 2 weeks. They like aquatic plant tabs that are simply pushed into the soil with your thumb, one tab per gallon of pot. If you don't have aquatic plant tabs, use tree spikes cut into 4 pieces. Tomato spikes also work well. The only fertilizer I have not tried is a time released one like Osmocote because that is activated by water, so I don't know if it would be released too rapidly to do much good. If you have many water lilies, you may want to stagger the feeding schedule because any fertilizer feeds all water plants, algae included, so you may inadvertently turn your water green with too much fertilizer.
Water lily habits
Tropical water lilies bloom profusely. One bloom stays open about three days, opening each morning and closing again in the evening. If you have only day blooming lilies, you may want to add a night bloomer to your collection because if you work, you may be able to enjoy your day bloomer only on weekends when you are not at work. After the lily blooms, the flower will close and begin to rot in the water. Pinch the dead bloom off to make room for all the other buds to open. I have often seen 4 -6 blooms open simultaneously on a healthy tropical water lily.
Water lily leaves or pads form a circle around the pot. When the outer ring of leaves gets too big or starts to look yellow,
remove the leaves at the base of the plant near the pot. You can do that when fertilizing so you are only in the pond once
per chore.
Your water lily's leaves begin to get smaller when the days get shorter. I usually stop fertilizing by the end of October, let the lily go dormant for the winter, giving it a better chance for winter survival. Next spring, check the water lily when the leaves reach the top of the water because your lily has probably multiplied and needs dividing. Except for your first year of owning your lily, you will be dividing it each spring thereafter. An easy enough job and you will have gifts for friends.
The night bloomer is treated exactly the same as the day bloomer. The bloom opens around 4:00 PM daily and closes by 10:00 AM. Often the night bloomer is even more dramatic in color and aroma than the day bloomer and seems to put out a light of its own.
Picture yourself relaxing in the evening next to your pond, watching the goldfish lazily swimming around, the night bloomers adding a redolent atmosphere to your tropical garden.
~Jan Goldfield
Back To Pondlady.com