Lily pad growth rate

[buckry]

Dear lord do they take their sweet time or is it just me? I've had my 3 bulbs for 2 full weeks and have only had 2 pads on the surface. Finally this morning a third pad has broken loose from the bulb and is about 3" long. Only 10 more inches to go.

Are my plants in shock from being shipped UPS? The 2 bulbs I have in the koi pond are completely covered in brand new pands, but they are all right on the bulb, there are none farther away than 1/2" I bought these things to shade my water and in this 95 degree heat they would go a long way, but not like this. They are not living up to my expectations and I'm thinking about getting the weed whacker out and teaching them a lesson. Weed whackers work under water right?

Anyway, is this glacial pace normal? Is every pad new pad going to take a month, or will there be some point in a couple of years when things reach the tipping point? Or is this just the classic a watched pad never grows?

 

[addy1]

ummmm no, mine grow like crazy. How did you plant them? have you stuck in fertilizer? How deep are they? When starting them out I have mine in 12 inch water, I crowd my walk out area with lilies. Full sun area Once they get going I push them deeper.

Mine (last year) did not do well unless fertilized, but I had very few fish in a lot of water. This year growing new pads every day, flowers take about 4 days to hit the surface, usually 4 flowers per plant at a time. some of the plants have five and up flowers per plant.

I do fertilize them, added osmocote to the clay, when I divided them this spring, add plant tabs about once a month or so (when I remember) usually every other grooming.

 

[buckry]

I put them in these little boxes with clay and pea gravel. Each one has an aquatic plant fertilizer tab in the clay. I started them out around 20", then moved them up to like 6". That's where they are now and they are fully bushy and green with growth, just nothing is moving vertical. The boxes are only about 5x10, so basically the bulb fits but there is no extra room at this point, I'm not crowding it am I? I've basically accepted the fact I won't see any blooms this year, but I really need those pads for shade, my water is a vast ocean right now, and while I don't have an algae problem, I want to keep it that way, it could come back any time.

However that being said, I think the reason my algae is under control is my hyacinths are doing so well. I've doubled my population of those and have all of these cute tiny hyacinths in baskets ready to take off. So I think I can say my water is healthy for plants, the lilies are just lazy I guess. Should I bump them up even further in the water? I feel like all of those green growths are a good sign, but I'm very anxious to have them do something useful for me.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

I'd put them in bigger containers, I use dollar store wash tubs. That said my water lilies are dissapointing me as well, but it's been a cold year so far and my water temp has only gone of 20 C (70 F) a couple times so far this year. I'm hoping they'll do better when it warms up more.

 

[addy1]

I take a oil pan from wally world, dump a 1/4 cup osmocote in the bottom, fill the kitty litter clay, stick the tuber in, they take off. You put the non growing end of the tuber against the edge of the pan. I would make the container bigger, wally world has basket, laundry type that would work also, for around 2.50.

During the growing season when I use the tabs I add 4 per oil pan. My pond water has bounced from 80's to 70's to 80's, now staying in the high 70's plus with this heat wave we are getting.

When you say bulb did you buy tropicals? they are more of a bulb then a tuber, my two tropicals are taking their sweet time, they like very warm water to take off.

 

[buckry]

No they are long black tubers, bulb is just the easier word to type. They are hardy lilies. The reason I went small is I have 4' of depth and no ledges so I suspend them with ropes at the right depth, something like an oil pan will be really hard to do that with. I'll put my brain to it and see if I can figure out something better.

 

[Davidless]

Don't mean to hyjack your thread, but were do you get your aquatic plant tabs? I spent 15 bucks on some at the pond store which I thought was rather high, considering they recommend one per gallon container per month.

I'm getting desperate

David

 

[addy1]

Don't mean to hyjack your thread, but were do you get your aquatic plant tabs? I spent 15 bucks on some at the pond store which I thought was rather high, considering they recommend one per gallon container per month.

I'm getting desperate

David

buy some jobe tomato spikes, they work just fine.

 

[addy1]

No they are long black tubers, bulb is just the easier word to type. They are hardy lilies. The reason I went small is I have 4' of depth and no ledges so I suspend them with ropes at the right depth, something like an oil pan will be really hard to do that with. I'll put my brain to it and see if I can figure out something better.

I just made a pvc frame for mine, attached some screen netting, stuck the oil pan and lily into, fits great. Used left over pvc we had laying around. Made the square around 18 inches, the screen lets them float right around 2 feet down. I put two in our deep end, honey wants me to do one more. Spray paint the pvc with that for hard plastic spray paint, you never see it.

Tie it off to the side with a piece of fishing line.

I added a rock to make it sink a little deeper

 

[Neo]

Mine are growing really fast but still growing right out of the water for some reason. I even put in a 110 gallon tub garden to separate them thinking they were just too bunched and they are starting to do it also.

 

[addy1]

Mine are growing really fast but still growing right out of the water for some reason. I even put in a 110 gallon tub garden to separate them thinking they were just too bunched and they are starting to do it also.

What kind of lily? I looked mine up, one can be from 6-32 inches deep the other 12-48 inches, the others no clue. How deep do you have them? they might be a variety that needs to be deep. Every now and then I have some leaves that stick above water, but then they settle down.

 

[Neo]

What kind of lily? I looked mine up, one can be from 6-32 inches deep the other 12-48 inches, the others no clue. How deep do you have them? they might be a variety that needs to be deep. Every now and then I have some leaves that stick above water, but then they settle down.

Not sure just hardy that I purchased at a nursery last year. They looked normal last year and then I just left them in the bottom of the pond all winter and when they came back this year started doing it.

I guess I should just be glad they are still growing and providing shade/protection for fishies.

 

[addy1]

Not sure just hardy that I purchased at a nursery last year. They looked normal last year and then I just left them in the bottom of the pond all winter and when they came back this year started doing it.

I guess I should just be glad they are still growing and providing shade/protection for fishies.

from a web site

Lily pads have creeping roots that spread quickly; therefore, it may be necessary to divide plants once they have overgrown their pot. This is usually done about once a year or when you begin to see the lily pads standing above the water surface.

 

[don't ask]

buck, you prolly have defective ones...send 'em back

 

[Neo]

Sorry I kinda hijacked the thread also Buckry...

from a web site

Lily pads have creeping roots that spread quickly; therefore, it may be necessary to divide plants once they have overgrown their pot. This is usually done about once a year or when you begin to see the lily pads standing above the water surface.

Thanks, I did separate them at the beginning of Spring but put them in smaller pots this year so that could definitely be the issue.

I have only fertilized them once this year so far also so it's surprising how fast they are growing, although if I kept up with the fertilizer tabs better I wonder if I would've had blooms by now.