Water lily (Helvola) lost almost all of its pads

[Mmathis]

Until about 3 or 4 days ago, my little Helvola lily had pads out the wazoo. Then, all of a sudden, I notice....the pads are gone. The stems are still there, but no pads. Well, there are maybe 2 or 3 pads left.

There is no evidence of anything eating them, or at least not anything obvious. The lily is about 6" to 10" under water (we've had a lot of rain lately, so the depth is variable). It's newly potted & fertilized -- all growth has been since then.

Any idea what's going on and how I can stop it from continuing?

@addy1 @adavisus @fishin4cars

 

[tbendl]

Can you tell if you've got new growth on the way? It got really hot here recently and I noticed one of my lily's was looking sickly but I can see pads coming up.

 

[Mmathis]

Can you tell if you've got new growth on the way? It got really hot here recently and I noticed one of my lily's was looking sickly but I can see pads coming up.

I'll have to check. Yesterday I was dealing with rain & flooding, so didn't pay too much attention if there were new shoots. My other lilys are having issues, but this particular issue is only with the Helvola (it's a tiny little dwarf -- pads are only about an inch or so in diameter).

 

[tbendl]

That's the same one I have! It was doing great this spring but has dwindled considerably. I don't know if it's a Helvola but it does have tiny pads... They are sand dollar-ish size

 

[Mmathis]

This one has yellow flowers, but hasn't bloomed yet this year. The pads are kind of reddish-green, mottled.

 

[tbendl]

I'll have to take a picture of it. It bloomed once for me but not again.

 

[Mmathis]

I took some pictures, but from the pictures you can't really see all the pad-less stems. Anyway, there is evidence of leaf damage, but can't say if it's from their being eaten or from rain damage. And there are new leaves coming up. So guessing I'll just keep an eye on it, see what changes take place, and take it from there. I was just curious to know if anyone else JUST loses the pads, but the stems remain....... Strange......

Oh, and BTW, I've found the secret to capturing pictures of the fish. Pretend they're not there and try to get a picture of something else..... I couldn't get any pics of the lily until the fish left (they just knew I was going to feed them).

 

[tbendl]

The fish are beauties. I'll have to check mine this weekend.

 

[mrsclem]

Is it possible that something outside the pond is snacking on the lily pads like maybe deer? I have had mine uprooted and window boxes on pond edges knocked over.

 

[Mmathis]

Is it possible that something outside the pond is snacking on the lily pads like maybe deer? I have had mine uprooted and window boxes on pond edges knocked over.

That's always possible, except that we don't have deer -- and why wouldn't "whatever" go after the larger lilies instead of this tiny one? Nothing's been disturbed, except for the missing pads -- the stems ae still intact..... And it seemed to have happened within a very short period of time. One day there were tons of pads, and the next time I noticed, they were almost gone

 

[RobAmy]

maybe one of these guys was running on top of them Seriously do you ever get ducks landing, the landings are tough on the lilies sometimes.

Purple Gallinule by A & R Photography, on Flickr

 

[Mmathis]

@RobAmy If I ever saw one of those guys land in my pond, I'd be so excited! What a spectacular bird!

But, no. No ducks.

 

[HARO]

Hungry boxies?
John

 

[Mmathis]

Hungry boxies?
John

They might be, but they don't have access to the pond......

 

[Lisak1]

but they don't have access to the pond

Maybe they are like bad teenagers... sneaking out after Mom and Dad are asleep?

But seriously - could it be your fish? It's a tiny pad and seems like it could be easily damaged.