Hardy Waterlilies Instrucions
Written by: TWL “Dusty Culp”
Hardy water lilies come in colors of red, pink, peach, orange, white and yellow or a mixture of some or all the colors. You have miniatures, medium and large varieties. Be careful when deciding on the hardy water lily of your choice that you take in consideration the size of plant. We have put a brief description by each lily. Stating the size, spread and proper water depth.
Hardies are true to their name: Once established they can take the cold. Just as long as the rhizome (which is the name given to the root) doesn’t freeze, the plant will live thru the cold winters as far north as Alaska. If you live in the cold region Zones 3-9 and you start getting cooler temperatures the plant will start to go dormant. The water lilies will loose all of its top foliage and form some small dormant leaves well below the waters surface sleeping until spring or the temperatures start to climb. Usually hardy waterlilies start to go dormant from the end of July to October. Do not be alarmed when this occurs. It’s one of the cycles of life for the hardy water lily. Hardy water lilies don’t do that well in the warmer tropical climates. They need to go thru there dormant process so they can keep on living. Usually the water lilies will stay dormant until spring or when temperatures start to get in the upper 70’s. Water lilies on a hole like to have direct sunlight. Some will tolerate shade.
TWL ships USPS (the regular Government Mail) Priority Mail 2 to 3 day service. TWL takes great pride in the growing, picking, packing and shipping process. We grow all of our own plants and pick fresh daily, keeping the water lilies at room temperature. Every afternoon we hand deliver the water lilies to the local post office for shipping. Keeping the plants fresh and cool. We ship the water lilies bare root. Usually we will place the waterlilies into a large zip lock bag and add a little moister for shipping. Then they will be put into a small shipping box, about the size of a shoe box or a little larger. Newspaper is utilized around the zip lock bag for insulation and for a cushion.
Once you receive your water lily, make sure you get it planted ASAP (especially if the weather is hot and the plant has broke dormancy). If you are not prepared to plant right away you can float the hardy water lilies in your pond or large bucket. The more you leave them out of the water the more they will go into shock. If the water lily is still dormant you have weeks before anything will damage the plant. If the temperatures are hot you need to keep them in the AC. Usually when the temps are hot the plant is well established and has broke dormancy. Never put your plant in direct sun without water. If hot enough the water lily may die in the matter of minutes.
You can plant most hardy waterlilies in almost any type of container you see fit. I would use a strong plastic one that will not crack or come apart. Make sure the container is at least 6” tall. Larger varieties need to go into a 2 to 10 gallon container. The smaller ones can be planted in as small as a ¾ to 1-gallon container. If the container has holes at the bottom, before putting your soil in, cover the holes with a couple of layers of newspaper. The newspaper will hold your dirt in place for about a month or two. By then the roots will hold the soil in place. Get your pot and put in your planting medium. Make sure to have at least 5” of dirt in your container. You can use almost any type of top-soil. Yard dirt, heavy loam, The best stuff to use is river bottom dirt that usually has a heavy clay base. “That stuff is packed full of nutrients” Don’t use potting soil, mulch, peat moss, cow-manure compost or humas. Leave that stuff for your yard plants or non-aquatic plants. Fill the pot all the way up to 1” to 2” from the top. Wet the dirt with water soaking it completely. Plant the rhizome on the side of the pot in the horizontal position. Make sure the crown is facing toward the center. You just want to plant the root down into the dirt enough so that the rhizome is barely covered. If you plant the rhizome any deeper than a couple of inches your water lily stands a good chance or dying. You can put pea-gravel or flat rocks on top of the dirt so that your fish want disturb the dirt once planted. Then simply place into desired spot in pond. Again the larger varieties will grow in 1.5’ to 2.5’ of water. The smaller ones like 6” to 1’. This measurement is taken from the top of your soil to the top of the water. You can elevate your container by using a center block from your local hardware store. They only cost about $1.50 and they are a perfect elevator (they measure 8”x8”x16”) I would wait a week or two before I fertilize. Maker sure you use a slow release pond tab. Designed for aquatics. The rule of thumb is use one tab per gallon container. Fertilize every 3 to 4 weeks. Make sure you push the pill down into the container on the sides as far as your finger will reach. Cover your finger hole up after fertilizing. Make the roots find the tab. Don’t every put directly on main rhizome. If you don’t fertilize you just want have the desired results while they grow in a container. Do not fertilize when your plants are going dormant or are in the dormant state.
More and more people are planting their plants in pockets at the bottom of their pond. You may have to put some soil in your pocket. Then plant your plant. Then cover dirt and plant roots with small rocks. Make sure you have some fish to make some home made fertilizer or you may have to push in fertilizer tabs every month or so. Sometimes large Koi will get a taste for aquatic plants. Once they do they’ll eat you out of house and home. Gold fish usually will never eat the water lilies.
If you are planting hardy water lilies in an earthen pond, you can plant them in a container or simply plant them directly into your pond. I would suggest planting them directly into your pond. If you do this there is no need to fertilize, repot or separate in the spring. All that you would have to do is “literally watch them grow”. Make sure when you plant them to simply push the rhizome into the muddy mucky bottom of your pond, just enough to hold the plant down, with the top of the rhizome facing up. If they are not anchored properly they will float and go somewhere you may not desire them to be. With some ponds you may have to use a little shovel or large knife to break the bottom enough to plant. If your earthen pond has no nutrients at all, you may have to put in some fertilizer tabs.
The main way hardies reproduce (and stay true to there name) is by producing eyes. Just like a potato. In the spring when the water lily starts to come out of dormancy, it will usually produce these small eyes. Some form into mother plants. You can enhance the reproduction by cutting these eyes off with a sharp knife, planting them in shallow warm water. Once the eyes become large you can transplant into your normal growing conditions.
I would suggest repotting every year. All you have to do is wait until your climate warms up. Once you stop having those hard freezes its time to repot. Just take your lily out of its pot. You can dump it up side down and wash away all the dirt. You’ll see the mother plant. If your lucky, possible more than one. Simply cut the rhizome back from the crown, which attaches the leaves, a couple of inches. With larger varieties cut them at least 3” to 5”. For smaller varieties cut at least 1” to 2”. Plant the new mother plant just as if you have received one in the mail.
