Planting Tips for a Water-Lily
Water-lilies belong to a small family of aquatic plants. The water-lily's
scientific family is Nympheaceae. There are about 50 different
species of water-lilies, including 17 in North America. These are grouped
into: night, tropical and hardy. Night lilies bloom in the night. Tropical
lilies can be found in tropical climates and bloom at all times of the
day. Hardy lilies are able to withstand most conditions and are the most
common.
Marianne Cola of WPC's Community Conservation offers the following planting tips:
You will need a container without holes, water-lily fertilizer, and pea gravel or sand.
First, you will want to wet the dirt before planting your lily. It will make it much easier to push the plant into the soil, and less chance of breaking the crown. Remember, you don't need special soil. Good old garden soil will do .
Be sure to fertilize your lilies. Lilies are good feeders and they will give more blooms if fed correctly, usually every 4-6 weeks during the growing season. Do not feed your lilies when the growing season is over - they will need to go dormant in order to replenish the root ball.
When
you have prepared the soil and are ready to plant your lily, be sure not
to cover the crown, just plant the lily deep enough to cover up to the
crown.
After you have planted your lily, you should put about 1 to 3 inches of
pea gravel so the dirt does not float away in the pond. Again be careful
when you are putting the gravel in not to cover the crown on the lily.
Water the lily again before putting it into the pond. To introduce your lily into the pond, place the pot on a stand or some bricks so the crown is just a few inches below the water. Remove the bricks as the growth increases until the lily is 18" to 24" below the surface.
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