Water lilies

[zvone]

Angie,
The Marliac waterlilies and others of similar pedigree do not need very warm water but they need light. I have no problems at nearly 60° North. If you have a pond in the open that does not freeze solid in the winter, waterlilies are not difficult but there is a great deal of Mumbo-Jumbo around - about special soils, special pots and other stufff.
Göte.

Hi Gote!

I agree with you!

Best Regards! zvone

[Lori S.]

Well, I guess that's the difference between mild climates that are moderated by ocean effects, as compared to the cold, interior continental climate here - they certainly do benefit from heat here!! 

[gote]

I feel encouraged to expand a little on the Mumbo-Jumbo.
Soil
As to soil I use heavy but good garden soil pobably very similar to what Hans is using. "waterlily-clay" sold here as pellets will kill them. Peat based soil is not touted here. (I would have thougt it would float?)
Pots
They grow best "naturally" on the bottom but weak plants (newly bougt or propagarted) are best in pots and plants in ponds that must be emptied in the winter must be grown in pots. Normal plastic pots of sufficient size are adequate and one can drill holes near the rim and fix a loose string across. Then they can be moved with a hook. A plant bought in the spring and grown in a pot over the summer will have developed a root-ball that can be pushed down into the mud att the pond bottom. this is an easy way to plant in permanent quarters. There is no need to use "net-pots" or basket. that will only make re-potting or planting out difficult.
Depth
Big plants can do well in shallow water but the stalks of leaves and flowers tend to push out of the water. In my part of the world we neeed to make sure they do not freeze so deep water is better. Very small cultivars as helvola will of course need shallow water so i have to use pots for them.
It is a superstition that they need to be in a pot that is moved to deeper waters as the stalk elongates. Waterlily leaves have a short life and new develop all the time. Young leaves will elongate to the surface in a couple of days. Old leaves will soon be lost anyway. Put at final depth at once!
Winrer.
If the pond does not freeze down to where the lily rhizomes are, they will be fine. I move my "shallow pots" to safe depth in the late fall but it is possible to overwinter in a bucket of water in a very cool place.
In my experience of those I have tried, the following are reliable and easy: Colossea (very pink big, erliest and latest), Marliacea albida (prolific also in adverse circumstances), Gladstoniana (very big white), Marliacea Chromatella, Mooreii (Both rather similar yellow), Attraction (red, easy), Newton (red narrow petals), James Brydon (red mor globular flowers). Pygmaea rubra is good in a tub.
The most beautiful flower colours are in my view Yuh Ling and Escarboucle, however, the colours do not show their brilliance in photos.  Gonnere, Mme Wilfron Gonnere and Colonel Welch are very shy in my place. Fabiola and Hollandica do fairly well and are similar to Anna Epple.
Please remember that in other locations others may be as good  or better.
Göte       

[zvone]

I feel encouraged to expand a little on the Mumbo-Jumbo.
Please remember that in other locations others may be as good  or better.
Göte       

Thank's Gote!



Best Regars!  zvone

[angie]

I bought two new water lilies at Tatton park flower show the other day and I have ordered a lovely fibreglass bowl that I will try and grow these in my polytunnel.
I tried for many years to grow water lilies but the pond was under the shade of two beech trees and koi and water lilies don't go together. So now I have three ponds, one just for the lilies, one for the koi and my first pond has just about everything in it.
Here is a picture of my water lily pond. The lilies haven't done good this year as we haven't had much sun, light or heat.

Angie 

[gote]

That looks very beautiful Angie. I assume you have no problems with ice.
I have to empty my formal pond every winter which means transporting all waterlilies to another pond where they are safe.

By the way; one sometimes gets a kind of algae that i believe is called blanket weed in English. I have found that they are eaten by the snail known as Lymnea stagnalis. Great pond snail I believe. If a few are intriduced in the spring, (befopre the blanket weed is too copious) there will be no outbreak of blanked weed. However if they becone too numerous and all blanket weed is gone,  they will start feeding on water lily stems but at that stage, it is easy to pick most of them and throw them back into the place where they came from. I am surprised that the RHS homepage does not mentin this easy and "natural" way to combat a weed.

have a nice summer
Göte

[zvone]

I bought two new water lilies at Tatton park flower show the other day and I have ordered a lovely fibreglass bowl that I will try and grow these in my polytunnel.
I tried for many years to grow water lilies but the pond was under the shade of two beech trees and koi and water lilies don't go together. So now I have three ponds, one just for the lilies, one for the koi and my first pond has just about everything in it.
Here is a picture of my water lily pond. The lilies haven't done good this year as we haven't had much sun, light or heat.

Angie 

Vau!  Beautiful!

Thank's Angie!

Best Regards!  zvone

[angie]

This pond freezes right over in the winter. I have the waterlilies raised on bricks and before the frosts come I drop them down. I used to try and grow them at the bottom of the pond but I didn't have to much success doing it this way, maybe the plants were to small.
I have loads of snails and this year I have had no blanket weed, then again it might because we haven't had any sun here in Aberdeen.
I just love these water lilies that have their flower stand proud of the water.
Does anyone feed their waterlilies.

Gote on of the ones I bought the other day was Pygmaea rubra I hope it grows well for me.

Here is a picture from a couple of years ago of a waterlily bud being used as a meeting place 

Angie 

[gote]

Meeting place indeed 
I have shown this before but somone seems to wait for a meeting.  "Please kiss me! I want to be a prince again!" 
Göte

[gote]

I forgot feeding.
I do nothing to those that are planted out. Those in pots get some well rotted cow manuere and some bone meal in the soil that is added.
Göte

[Hans A.]

Some fantastic water lilies here!
Water lilies are some of the very few plants actually in flower in the garden now - they make a good show.

[Maggi Young]

Some fantastic water lilies here!
Water lilies are some of the very few plants actually in flower in the garden now - they make a good show.

Oh! My word! SO very beautiful!

[Mavers]

Angie your lily pond is delightful.

Also Hans those tropical lilies are stunning especially the red & the blues ones.

[angie]

Angie your lily pond is delightful.

Also Hans those tropical lilies are stunning especially the red & the blues ones.

Thank you. I can imagine that you could grow some lovely waterlilies in your part of the country.

Hans Maggi took the words right out of my mouth, stunning.

Angie 

[Hans A.]

Thanks for the kind comments, even if I am still far away from the tropics they do fine and are harder I expected. Here a picture from february.