Overwintering Tropical Water Lillies

[medxam]

How do you folks, who live where the water freezes, overwinter your tropical water lillies? I don't have a basement but I do have a garage with two hot water boilers that has not yet dropped below 32F. I wondered about a large tub. Do I need a heater or aerator. Do you just move them in pot and all.

I really want to get some of these and late in the season finds the best prices.
I would appreciate any help.

medxam

 

[addy1]

I have read they die, at lower than 50 or so. I stuck mine in the basement in a tub of water and basically forgot about them, the temperature down there is around 60ish

http://www.victoria-adventure.org/more_than_links/rich_overwintering_tropicals.html

 

[toadfarm]

Do you need a grow light for them in the basement?

 

[addy1]

Do you need a grow light for them in the basement?

I have a sliding glass door, just stuck them near it, no grow light, they sort of go dormant

 

[HARO]

I have a sliding glass door, just stuck them near it, no grow light, they sort of go dormant

I did the same thing, but mine died! John :sad:

 

[addy1]

From what I have read they are tough to keep over winter, I was just lucky

 

[taherrmann4]

Has anyone else had any luck over wintering their tropical lillies?

 

[adavisus]

Survival rates are close to 100% of the young small hard tubers under 1" size, which incidentally if they have a single sprout are likely to sprout a single blooming plant.

Those can go on to form large conglomerate tubers, large old tubers, or multiple young tubers given favourable tubering conditions

Tubers with a lot of sprouts tend to self crowd and not fire up to blooming size plants

Larger tubers may well be old, on their last legs and the mass of starch within them about to rot in marginal conditions

Rhisomes of tropical waterlilies tend to be soft celled and easily rot if they don't get growing temps daily

Grown out plants with no tubers or rhisomes formed can be kept going in borderline temps though they take up a lot of space.

Plants which are outdoors hardened are going to be considerably more durable and cold tolerant than soft cell plants that have been pushed in tropical or climate controlled conditions

Folk that have pre concieved notions based on what hardy waterlilies are like, for example taking for granted large rhisomes or grown out plants are somehow better than smaller ones are likely to end up with either invasive messy plants with poor pad to bloom ratios, or struggling with plant shock

Young small tubers are durable in marginal conditions, go from dormant to blooming in a month and display pristine growing habit

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.co...s/21940871@N06/
http://swglist.wordpress.com/

 

[addy1]

I stuck two tropicals in my basement (around 50 or so in temp), near a sliding glass door, no sun. Put water in the tub, ignored them until I stuck them back outside, months later. Both had leaves. Even put them out, most likely too early ie. pond dropped to the 40's after I stuck them outside. They are still doing fine, growing new leaves.

 

[j.w]

Good going on that experiment addy. Now hope it works next time too.

 

[addy1]

Good going on that experiment addy. Now hope it works next time too.

I am so busy, don't baby plants, give them care, a chance then they are on their own, they actually do well..............too well sometimes, then need to purge the extras

 

[j.w]

You must have a green thumb! Or they got a taste of your nice property and have a real strong will to live to get back out there!

 

[addy1]

You must have a green thumb! Or they got a taste of your nice property and have a real strong will to live to get back out there!

My mom used to be able to take a branch stick it in the ground and it grew. I have, to a lesser degree, taken after her. A real plantacoholic.

 

[j.w]

I've tried doing that stick a branch thing either in the ground or water and mostly it fails. Think I need to use the hormone stuff from the willow tree or buy some. Easier to do seeds or just go buy the darn things tho.