Water Lillys dying U.K.

[Grey]

Hi Guys, I have had my pond now for 6years, it is well established. However, I have never had any luck at keeping water Lillys more than one season. They always die off in the winter and never come back. I have tried different types of Lilly but always the same. Everything else in the pond survives the winter. I am just about to start my early spring tidying of all marginal plants which just require the removal of dead parts and pruning back of anything that's overgrown. Here in the south of the U.K. although we get snow etc its never for any length of time, the lowest temp was -6deg C for about 7 days. I would welcome any advice that might help.

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome @Grey ! Are you sure you're planting hardy lilies? Are you buying these pre-planted from the nursery? How deep is your pond? How deep are the lily pots?

Do you have some photos of any of these in bloom when they were growing?

 

[sydnie]

Be sure they are hardy and not tropical

 

[Grey]

Welcome @Grey ! Are you sure you're planting hardy lilies? Are you buying these pre-planted from the nursery? How deep is your pond? How deep are the lily pots?

Do you have some photos of any of these in bloom when they were growing?

I have bought both from a shop in pots and over internet and both with same results. my pond is about 0.8mtrs deep and i've placed them in pots on the bottom. i have attached some photos.

 

[j.w]

@Grey
So that's about 2&1/2 feet deep. Doesn't look like you get too cold there to freeze them. What do you do to them before winter comes? Do you cut them up or ? How tall are the pots? Surface of water to plants?

 

[Grey]

View attachment 156069@Grey
So that's about 2&1/2 feet deep. Doesn't look like you get too cold there to freeze them. What do you do to them before winter comes? Do you cut them up or ? How tall are the pots? Surface of water to plants?

I cut back the leaves as they start to die off. The pots are standard pots so I suppose surface to top of pot is about 20".

 

[j.w]

I cut back the leaves as they start to die off. The pots are standard pots so I suppose surface to top of pot is about 20".

You don't cut off the tiny little sprouts on the tubers do you as those need to stay for next bloom season? Otherwise I don't know why they would die. Do the tubers turn to mush?

 

[Grey]

No, the tubers haven't had any shoots appear and nothing grows back again. Do you know of a good Hardy one to buy. I did notice some jelly type things under the leaves this year, I'd never seen them before. Could that be a cause do you think?

 

[WaterGardener]

How long do you leave them before giving up on them? The ones I have had die all turned to mush as j.w. said. Some take longer than others to get started again.

 

[Tula]

Like @j.w asked, do the tubers turn to mush ? If so, then they're dead.....but if not perhaps give them more time and maybe repot.

 

[WaterGardener]

Jelly things could be snail eggs. Normally not a problem.

 

[Lisak1]

Those do look to be standard hardy lilies, so it is a mystery. How long do you wait before you give up on them? One tip I learned early on was to raise the pots up when the weather starts to warm up - get them up in the warmer water near the top to get them growing faster. They can take more time if they are at the pond bottom where the water stays cooler longer.

And like everyone has said - if the tubers are still good and firm they should sprout. You can definitely tell a dead lily tuber!

 

[Grey]

Thanks everyone for your help, I'm going to try again this year and take on board what you have all said. I'll look at hardy varieties and lift them up when it gets warmer.

 

[addy1]

I put my hardies at about a foot deep, tubers maybe six inches below, water surface. The pots are also full sun. I move them as soon as we are out of the maybe hard freeze time of year. Some of mine are sending new leaves to the surface right now, we have been darn warm this winter. All the bugs are still living..................

 

[Grey]

Thanks for the tip, I will persevere and keep trying.