NYMPHAEA - Cultivation of
Water Lily (Blue Lotus)
DESCRIPTION: This group is commonly known as Water
Lilies. These are hardy and tropical, aquatic perennials native
to Australia, South Africa and the Northern Hemisphere. There
are many hybrids, which have been developed from the wild
species. Water Lilies produce handsome, floating foliage and
gorgeous blossoms.
There are four types of rootstock in the Nymphaea group.
Water Lilies are potted and propagated according to the kinds of
roots they have and these methods will be described below in
their specific sections. Tuberosa rhizomes are thin, horizontal
growths with rapidly growing eyes along their length. Leaves and
flowers are produced along the rhizomes rather than from a
specific growing tip or eye. Odorata rhizomes are thick, chunky,
horizontal growths with eyes also growing along their lengths.
The eyes will grow into thick branches if not trimmed off.
Leaves and blossoms are produced from growing tips. Marliac-type
rhizomes grow horizontally, but stay more together rather than
creeping along as the others do. It is also grows less
vigorously than the others. Mexicana types have upright growth.
New tubers form either right under or along side the mother
tuber, or are embedded within the tuber. Tropical Water Lilies
and some hardy kinds grow from this type of root.
Tropical Water Lilies - Tropical Water Lilies usually
hold their flowers above the surface of the water. There are
day-blooming and night-blooming varieties. The flowers are open
for 3 or 4 days each. They need a water temperature of 70º F.,
though established plants can survive a bit lower. The spread of
tropical Water Lilies ranges from 3 to 12 feet. N. 'Evelyn
Randig' is a gorgeous variety having large (14 or 15 inches),
round, bright green leaves conspicuously blotched with purple.
The flowers are dark raspberry pink with greenish based sepals
veined with purple. The cup-shaped flowers grow 7 to 9 inches
across. N. 'Director George T. Moore' has fragrant, dark
violet-blue flowers that measure 7 to 10 inches across. The
round leaves are lightly mottled with purple and grow 10 to 12
inches across. N. 'Enchantment has pink flowers and large,
bright green, oval leaves that have serrated, wavy margins. N.
'Mrs. George H. Pring' has white flowers striped with
grayish-green. The ovate, green leaves are blotched with purple
when young. Night-blooming Water Lilies open about dusk and
close by noon the next day. The flowers last 3 or 4 days each.
N. 'Antares' is a beautiful variety with dark red flowers and
orange stamens. The cup-shaped flowers are 6 to 10 inches
across. The green leaves have wavy borders and pointed
projections. Young leaves are bronze veined with green.
Hardy Water Lilies - Hardy Water Lilies can be grown in
cooler climates. As long as the rhizomes do not freeze, they
will survive the winter. The spread of hardy Water Lilies ranges
from 3 to 8 feet. They are available in many different hues and
some are changeable, that is, they change color over their 3- to
4-day blooming period. Hardy Water Lilies don't bloom as
abundantly as Tropical Water Lilies and they don't hold their
flowers high over the water. Since these Water Lilies are
hybrids, most are sterile and need to be reproduced by division
or by rooting the "eyes" found along the rhizomes. These
varieties will not thrive in very warm climates, as high
temperatures will cause them to burn and wilt. N. 'Peaches and
Cream' is a lovely variety having fragrant, pink outer petals
and yellow inner petals that curve inward. Its round leaves are
speckled with purple when new. N. 'Darwin' has large, green
leaves and double flowers that resemble Peonies. The central
petals are light pink darkening with age. The outer petals are
white taking on a pinkish hue by the third day. This is a very
handsome variety. N. 'Perry's Magnificent' has dark dusty rose,
stellate flowers with yellow centers. There is a conspicuous red
spot in the middle of the yellow centers. N. 'Almost Black' is
just that; the outer petals of these flowers are very dark red
turning black toward the center. The blossoms are 8 to 9 inches
across. N. xlaydekeri 'Fulgens' has cup-shaped flowers of bright
burgundy with almost white outer petals. N. 'Gonnere' produces
gorgeous, pure white flowers that are 4 to 6 inches across. N. 'Solfatare'
is a changeable Water Lily. The inner petals start out a
yellowish apricot, turn to a creamy peach and finally peach. The
outer petals are darker shades. These cup-shaped flowers measure
3 or 4 inches across.
There are many other varieties of Water Lilies that will be
mentioned below along with a brief description of their flower's
colors.
POTTING: When potting your Water Lilies, a little
preparation is first necessary. If your rhizomes are not
bare-root, trim off the roots, leaving only a few, new roots to
help anchor and establish it, and cut leaf stems close to the
rhizome. Trim the rhizomes so that they are only 2 or 3 inches
in length. Throw away the oldest pieces that look dead and
hollow. Any roots and foliage that is left attached should be
covered with wet newspapers or damp towels to prevent them from
drying out before they're planted.
For tuberosa- and odorata-type rhizomes, plant in a large,
strong container. Place one aquatic tab for every gallon of soil
around the bottom and fill three-fourths of the pot with good
topsoil enriched with bone meal. Mound the dampened soil and
place the cut edge of the rhizome against the wall of the pot.
Tilt the tubers at a 45-degree angle so the growing tip will be
at soil level. If there are roots, spread them across the soil.
Fill the rest of the space with soil, patting it to decrease air
pockets. Make sure not to cover the growing tip. The pot can
then be carefully lowered in the water.
For mexicana-type rhizomes and tropical Water Lilies, plant
in the center of the container because they usually grow
vertically rather than horizontally. They are planted the same
way as the other tubers, except the crown of the plant should
end up above soil surface. Tropical Water Lilies should not be
set in the water until it maintains a 70º F. temperature or
higher.
During the winter, hardy Water Lilies should be moved to the
deepest, ice-free part of the pond. In regions where
temperatures drop below -10º F., Water Lilies that have mexicana
parents should be taken from the pond and stored, in their pots
of soil, in airtight bags in a cool, non-freezing place. Make
sure that they don't dry out. Hardy Lilies that are cultivated
in shallow ponds or tub gardens should be stored in the same
way. You can also hose away the soil and wrap the rhizomes in
living sphagnum moss. Put the wrapped plant in an airtight
plastic bag and store in a cool, non-freezing place. Tropical
Water Lilies can be left in the water only in tropical climates
where temperatures stay above about 40º F. In colder zones,
remove the Water Lilies from the pond before the first hard
frost. They can be moved to a greenhouse pond with full exposure
to the sun. They don't need to be fertilized. Once the water
outdoors has returned to a temperature of 70º F. or more, they
may be placed back in the pond. Another method is to keep potted
plants outdoors until the second frost and then hose away the
soil from the tubers and air dry for two days. Remove any
leftover soil and pieces of root while you remove small tubers
from the mother. Store them in jars of distilled water at a 50º
to 55º F. temperature. In the spring, dose them with an
anti-bacterial, anti-viral and a fungicide before planting them
in small pots about 4 weeks before the outdoor pond has
maintained at least a 70º F. temperature. Grow them in a sunny
location in warm water. Once the water temperature outdoors has
warmed, they are repotted in larger containers and placed in the
pond. The last method is started as the previous method, except
the tubers are stored in airtight plastic bags filled with damp,
not wet, sand. Store them in a cool, dark place at a 50º to 55º
F. temperature.
PROPAGATION: As mentioned previously, in the description
section, Water Lilies have four kinds of roots. They all produce
growing "eyes" or growing points on the tubers. The mexicana
rhizomes produce tubers like corms or bulbs at the base or even
embedded within the mother plant.
Tropical Water Lilies - Day-blooming tropical Lilies may
be placed in one-gallon or smaller containers and starved to
produce overwinter tubers. "Starving" means feeding the plant
when it's planted and maybe the first month or so. A container
with no holes should be used to prevent the roots from escaping
and finding nourishment elsewhere. If you are pulling up the
plant just before fall, take it from its pot, hose away the soil
and check for tubers around the bottom of the mother tuber.
Rinse them and store them in slightly damp sand or in distilled
water at 50º or 60º F. for the winter. In the spring, plant your
tubers in one-gallon containers with no drainage holes. They
should be filled with loamy soil that is covered with about an
inch of sand. The top of the upright tuber is set at the bottom
level of the sand. If you don't know which end is which, plant
it on its side. Two or three crops of plants will be produced in
one growing season. When the first crop has a couple of surface
leaves, rinse away the soil and repot the small tubers in small
pots submerged in shallow water. Another crop may be gathered
during the season, or they can be left attached to the mother
plant until you lift the plants in the fall. You might want to
keep the small tubers attached because removing them weakens the
mother tuber. The same methods of propagating are used for
night-blooming Water Lilies, though the tubers are found
embedded within the mother plant's rhizome. Some tropical Water
Lilies can be increased by viviparous reproduction. This is the
development of tiny plants at the point of a leaf where the two
lobes connect. Some varieties will produce plants from wilted
flowers; however, this is rare. The small, viviparous plantlets
develop tiny leaves and some roots, but don't grow vigorously
until the parent leaf begins to die. When you see roots growing,
remove the new plant and pot them in small containers and treat
as a seedling with 2 or 3 inches of water over the soil. Protect
them from direct sun and begin feeding applications of
fertilizer.
Hardy Water Lilies - When a Water Lily is divided in its
second growing season, many of these growing points will be
large enough to produce flowers. If the growing eyes have
produced enough growth, they may be snapped free from the mother
plant; otherwise, they may be cut off and potted in 4-inch pots
and grown to flowering size.
Water Lilies may also be increased by sowing seeds. When a
Water Lily blossom has been fertilized, the flower will retreat
beneath the water's surface in a coiling spiral after the normal
blooming period of 3 or 4 days. Unfertilized flowers will just
float downward in the water, their stems remaining straight.
Seeds can be collected by placing muslin bags over the blossom
as the seeds ripen or by gathering a fertilized pod about 10
days after its submersion to allow it to ripen in a container of
distilled water. Once the seeds are released from their pods,
they may be planted. If you plant fresh seeds, don't remove the
gelatin coating. Shallow seed pans or margarine tubs can be
filled with good garden soil. Spread the jellied seeds or
individual seeds evenly over the surface of the soil and lightly
sprinkle sand to cover them; they are then gently watered. Place
the containers in an aquarium or bowl of water with no more than
2 or 3 inches of water covering the soil's surface. They need to
be set in a warm, well-lighted spot. Strong, direct light,
however, can damage or kill your little plants. After a few
weeks, the first baby plants will sprout. Once the first leaves
reach the surface of the water, the plants may be picked out in
clumps, carefully washed clean of soil and pulled apart from
each other with toothpicks. Plant them separately in small pots
or margarine tubs with the soil used above and cover them with 2
to 4 inches of water over the soil's surface. Bone meal and
aquatic plant fertilizer should be incorporated in the bottom
half of the container; monthly feedings aren't necessary. It
will probably take 6 months for the plants to grow large enough
to plant outdoors. As the seedlings grow, check for growth of
algae, which can quickly kill them. Carefully pick away the
algae by twirling it around a toothpick. If algicide, even a
diluted amount, is applied, it may kill the tender plants.
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