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Waterlilies in Florida: Tips & Tricks
by Paula Biles
In The Good, The Better, and the Spectacular, I told you that both hardy and tropical waterlilies (Nymphaea) can grow in Florida. But how do you select the right lily? How can you make it bloom for as long as possible? And where do you get more information?
Select the Perfect Lily
Before any purchase, consider the size of your pond and how often you want to repot. Our long sunny seasons result in extended growth. So dwarf or compact varieties are best for medium and small ponds, especially if you don’t plan to repot annually. If you have the room, large hybrids can be spectacular additions. Other factors are color and flowering schedule. If you work days or host dinner parties, night-blooming tropicals are ideal. They open from nightfall to late the following morning.
Plan landscape color schemes when buying lilies. Using two complementary hues is spectacular. Photo by Paula Biles
Tropicals are more popular than hardies in Florida since they are showier, with more flowers, brighter colors and multicolored leaves. They also offer an extra-long growing season and night-bloomers. It’s no surprise that Florida suppliers sell mainly tropicals, except for the chain stores that sell the same waterlilies here as in Minnesota. However, if you want hardies, avoid red varieties, which sunburn and often die. Look for yellow, salmon, and white hybrids.
Make Planting Easier
PTD — planting too deep — is the most common lily killer. ALWAYS leave growing tips exposed. Photo by Paula BIles
Always pot in the shade. If a lily will be out of water for awhile, wet the pads or cover them with damp cloths or newspapers. Finger cots keep fingernails clean. If you don’t like muddy hands, use cheap rubber gloves. Bright-orange Fiskars scissors are easy to find if dropped in the pond. Serrated bread knives are indispensable when dividing aquatic plants. A pitcher is handy to slowly pre-moisten potting soil and avoid erupting volcanoes when pots get submerged.
Maximize Flowering
Natural waterlily habitats are shallow ponds with full sun and plenty of room for leaves and roots to spread. Dead flowers and foliage decay, becoming nutrients for more growth. When backyard ponds don’t provide sufficient space or sun, we must find ways to help lilies thrive.
Raise pots to increase light and warmth for more growth. Photo by Paula Biles
Lilies need 4-6 hours of full sun; more is better. Low light levels result in good foliage, but few or no flowers. The easiest way to maximize sunlight and warmth is to set pots on stands or crates. (Black ones are almost invisible.) This is especially important for ponds deeper than 24 inches. Place pots even closer to the surface, where the water is warmest and brightest, at the beginning and end of each season. This can result in additional weeks of growing time. It also helps to put pots in the sunniest pond area at the start of each season. Reposition them after healthy growth develops.
You can have lily blooms in shade if you cheat. This N. silkus eternicus blooms 24/7. Photo by Paula Biles
Owners of low-light ponds have options. (1) Create a holding pond or container for duplicate lilies in full sun. Do a “swaperoo” when lily flowering declines. (2) Think of your lily blooms as a flower arrangement. When it stops, get another. (3) Buy lily varieties with colorful pads that look great without blooms. (4) Be sacrilegious...GASP... buy a fake waterlily.
Waterlilies are unlike other plants which store nutrients in leaves, roots and bark. Lilies constantly shed old blossoms and foliage so they don’t have a nutrient battery in reserve. They require a large and steady fertilizer supply to thrive and bloom, especially during the growing season. This is why it is necessary to plant lilies into the largest containers you can handle; all their food comes from within their pot. A side benefit of larger pots is that fertilizing and repotting aren’t needed as frequently.
Folks with the most beautiful and prolific lily blooms often feed them monthly, or they use a controlled release fertilizer (CRF). Get a flower or vegetable blend with micronutrients and, if possible, added humates. (Dynamite brand is recommended for aquatics.) When added to the soil during spring planting, the CRF may last for the entire growing season. Labeled release rates are only an estimate for submerged applications.
Fewer blooms or smaller leaves are cries for food. Lilies planted with a CRF in spring probably won’t yell for help until late in the season or the following spring. Aquatic fertilizer tabs can be pushed down to the root zone for late-season nutritional supplements.
Expand Your Knowledge
Attend local pond club tours and meetings for information and ideas. Become friends with the nearest water garden center staff. Their lilies are probably Florida-grown and will thrive here. Plus, they know local conditions and what will flourish in your pond. They’ll also recommend proven alternatives to the latest award-winning hybrids you saw online. Don’t waste your money in big box stores on sad plants with pretty packaging.
Take Internet information with a grain of salt. Articles and posts usually describe lilies for northern climates, not the Sunshine State. Always add “Florida” when searching online. A better source for relevant knowledge and lilies are Florida plant festivals. There is an annual Water Lily Festival in Sarasota on Memorial Day and a Waterlily Celebration at McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach.
A) Hardies have smooth-edged round pads. B) Some tropicals grow new plants from leaves. C) Hardy blooms float and come in pastel colors. D) Hardy rhizomes are elongated. E) Tropical flowers are often intensely colored. F) Tropical pads have wavy edges and can be multicolored. G) Some tropicals have serrated pads and bloom at night. H) Tropical tubers are roundish. I) Tropicals bloom high above the water and may be blue. Photos by Paula Biles.
Paula Biles wrote about the basics of growing waterlilies in Florida here.
© 2014 Paula Biles. Originally published in Florida Gardening, Apr / May 2014. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.