Nymphaea water lilies, popularly known as water lilies, have fascinated people for over 4,000 years and already then decorated the garden water reservoirs of aristocrats in ancient Egypt, the Chinese Empire and Japan. This infatuation with lilies is still alive, which we can easily see when looking at the hardships of many growers, who are constantly looking for new varieties that could grow even in very small tanks or would have flowers of a rare color, such as blue. In recent years, breeders have especially worked on the smallest dwarf and poorly growing forms. On the other hand, the blue color is still reserved only for flowers of exotic varieties, sensitive to winter cold.
These beautiful aquatic plants will settle in our garden pond without any problems, if we take into account the growth strength and planting depth of the selected varieties. The differences are huge: the dwarf forms of the Nyphaea tetragon and its relatives, such as 'Helvola', 'Alba', 'Graziella' or 'Paul Hariot', will be satisfied with 10 cm deep water in a container, while for vigorously growing water lilies, such as . 'Colossea', 'Escarboucle', 'Mrs. Richmond ',' Gladstoniana 'or' Gold Medal ', even one meter of water is not yet depth.
Lilies in small ponds
In small and medium ponds small, weakly growing waterlilies, such as' W alter Pagels', 'Moorei', 'Firecrest', James Brydon 'and' Froebeli ', feel best. Plants in this group have two advantages. First of all, they feel best in water that is 20 to 50 cm deep, which is quite shallow. Secondly, they are not a threat to the biological balance of the pond, as they do not grow so luxuriantly that their leaves cover the entire surface of the water.Stable mesh baskets are most suitable for planting water lilies, which limit the expansion of the mycelium rhizomes at the bottom of the pond. When determining the proper planting depth, make sure to measure it to the ground in the basket. If the optimum water depth for a variety of waterlily is 50 cm and the basket is 30 cm high, it should be placed at the bottom where the water is 80 cm deep.
Water lily maintenance
Myceliums will bloom luxuriantly and long if we provide them with large amounts of nutrients. Unlike many other perennials, water lilies only partially use the nutrients dissolved in the water. Therefore, they should not be planted in poorly fertile soil, suitable for most pond plants. The best for water lilies is clay, nutrient-rich garden soil, which should not contain peat or immature peat, consisting of only partially decomposed plant fragments, which start to rot very quickly in the water.The annual dose of fertilizer is the best food for water lilies. In spring or early summer, we prepare balls of clay mixed with long-acting fertilizer granules or horn chips. The balls, as well as the fertilizer sticks, are pressed into the substrate right next to the root ball. However, if after a few years, despite careful care, water lilies stop blooming, we should undergo a rejuvenating treatment. We take the baskets with plants out of the water and divide the horizontally growing rhizome into several or a dozen or so parts. Each small section of the rhizome should be well rooted and have at least two leaf buds. We plant the rhizome parts individually in baskets filled with fresh clay soil.
Planting water liliesRhizomes are planted in large baskets, in which the lilies will be able to develop without any obstacles for at least three growing seasons. Baskets for beautiful aquatic plants should have a minimum capacity of five liters. Plant the growing varieties very tightly in baskets of at least ten liters.Line the empty basket with linen sackcloth or fleece, then fill with soil up to 8 cm from the edge. The root ball of the plant is planted so that, after lightly tapping it in the basket, there is still room for the covering layer of soil. Then cover the ground with gravel and water it heavily, which will prevent the soil from flowing out when placing the basket in the water. First, place the basket with water lily in a place where the water is half shallower than the plant requires. Only when the first leaves reach the surface of the pond, do we move the plant to a suitable place in the deeper part of the water. Place the plants in the tank some time after filling it with water.
