Bonniesplants.com Shirley Bryne day blooming water lily

Tropical Water Lilies

Tropical lilies are one of my favorites. Their blooms rise high above the foliage, and the colors are magnificent. There are wonderful shades of pink and purple, and fuchsia and blue and lots of shades in between. Their foliage is often a uniquely colored. Some have a wine-like color splotches and patterns. Some varieties will be green with wine colored speckles. These varieties are truly outstanding! The tubers are round shaped and vary in size from a small walnut to a large egg, compared to the hardy-lilies' rhizomes which are elongated. Make sure the top of the tuber is free of soil and gravel when you are potting them or they could rot.

The tropical water lily can be divided into 2 groups: Day bloomers and Night bloomers. Most are wonderfully fragrant. Both varieties are very prolific. The day bloomers will open mid morning and close in late afternoon. The night bloomers will open in the late afternoon and be closed by the next morning. The night bloomers are very popular with "the working" crowd as they are usually home from work to enjoy the blooms. If you are fortunate to be home most of the time, then by all means you should have one of each kind!

Unlike their cousin, the hardy water lily, tropical lilies like warm water. They are considered winter-hardy only as far north as zone 8. In these warmer climates they can reside in the pond all year round. Should you have a brief "cold" snap, you may have a temporary setback but don't worry they will snap back as soon as the water warms again. For this reason they should not be placed in the pond until all danger of frost is past and when the water temperature is around 70 degrees. They also require a minimum of 6 hours of sun a day to grow and bloom their best.
These lilies like shallower water, only 6 to 12" inches over the tops of the pot. This aspect makes them ideal for smaller ponds. If you have a deeper pond you can use clay pots tipped upside down to bring the pot closer to the surface of the water.
All Lilies are heavy feeders and should be fertilized monthly. Mark it on your calendar so you don't forget. In colder climates it is best to stop fertilizing one month before the first expected frost.
Once the cold weather sets in, and the foliage has turned black, it is time to lift the tropical lily out of the pond. Some ponders will then just discard the plant and plan to buy "new" again the next spring, figuring they got their moneys worth. I am a frugal person and hardly ever throw anything away, so I figured out a way to save my tropical water lilies.

Saving Tropical Lilies For Next Year:

Tropical lilies can be grown successfully in zones lesser than 8 but one will need to follow a few guide lines. Tropical lilies should not be placed in the pond until all danger of frost is past and when the water temperature is above 70 degrees. I always grew a few tropical lilies while I was living in Michigan (zone 5) because I was madly in love with them.

In colder zones many treat them as annuals. Grow them one season and then throw them away. You can expect to pay around $30.00 for a tropical lily, depending on where you live. Or if you are budget-minded you can over winter them by lifting them from the pond right about the time they go dormant. Trim off all foliage, buds and open flowers and place them in a large bucket (a 5-galloon bucket works great) of clean dechlorinated water and store them in a spot that is 55 to 70 degrees for the winter. If you have a larger collection, purchase a large Rubbermaid tub, one that will allow for several inches of water over the top of the pot. By following this advice the lily will go dormant and rest for the next season. Be sure to check periodically during the winter to make sure the water does not get funky or evaporate. If this happens, replace with clean water.

As spring approaches move the bucket to a warmer, sunnier location to encourage the lily to break dormancy. For most zones this would be some time in March. Once you see a few leaves, push a couple of pond tab fertilizer tabs into the soil near the outside edge of the pot. By the time your water has warmed in the pond to 70 plus degrees you will have a plant with many leaves to add to your pond and this will give you an early jump on the growing season.

TIP: when you remove the plant from the pond, remove any flower buds to a vase of water and in most cases the flower will continue to grow and open. And you can then enjoy the wonderful fragrance for few days in your home. Do not set the vase in front of a sunny window or the flower bud may die prematurely. Change the water in the vase daily as you would fresh cut flowers.

More information on growing Lilies and Lily Types

Doc: "Could you comment on the percentage-chance of saving the Tropical Tubers by your method? A 30, 60, or 90+% chance that the effort to employ the technique pays off?"

Bonnie: If you remember to check the bag in the refrigerator for moisture regularly throughout the storage period, you should be around 95 to 99 % survival rate. Just remember the peat moss needs to be kept "barely" moist during this resting period. To clarify this, you want to use Canadian peat moss (brown in color) and NOT organic peat (black in color) If you take a wet wash cloth and squeeze all the water out that you possible can, that would be considered "barely moist".

Doc: "Is there a bright red Tropical? What's it called?"

Bonnie: A bright red Tropical lily? Hhhhhmmmmmmm! Not that I know of.. There are few varieties that I know of that are refereed to as red, but they are not a true bright red. They are more of a maroon, wine, or burgundy color. Try Antares, Red Night and Maroon Beauty. They are night bloomers. Red Night is very fragrant.

Doc: Explain how the zone chart works, please.

Bonnie: Canada is in zone 4,3,2, &1. The further north you go, the colder it gets and the lower the number. The further south you go the warmer or the higher number. Florida is 9 in the northern part and 10 in the southern part. California on the other hand is 3 zones 7,8, and 9.

Doc: "How do you make a Plant Koi safe?"

Bonnie: Nothing is 100% Koi safe. The trick is to put plants in the ponds that are "their plants." All of my ponds that have fish and plants contain numerous water celery plants. The fish love it. It is my opinion that any pond that has plants and fish MUST contain a few water celery plants. It is also an excellent source of vitamins for the fish. In my stock tanks that have fish and salt but no plants, several times a week I toss in water celery that I trim off of plants that I keep just for that purpose.

Doc: How would I grow a plant outside of my pond to feed my fish?

Bonnie: I use Styrofoam containers and place pots of water celery in them. Just remember to keep adding water to the Styrofoam container so that it remains at least 1" above the top of the potted celery. I occasionally add a little water-soluble fertilizer to the water in the Styrofoam container. I also have separate containers that contain duckweed (another fish favorite). I toss a generous amount in all tanks and ponds every week. They absolutely love it! When my Koi chow down the celery in the pots that are in the pond, I replace that pot with one from the Styrofoam container to give it a chance to grow back. . NOTE: you must never use any type of garden variety of fertilizer in your pond or you will end up the biggest alga bloom you have ever seen. Spend the money and buy plant tablets designer especially for ponds.

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