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Nelson Water Gardens
1502 Katy Fort Bend Co. Rd.
Katy, Texas 77493
Office: (281) 391-4769
Fax: (281) 391-8626
HOURS:
Sunday Hours: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Monday-Saturday: 9:00am - 6:00pm |
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The Plant Lady |
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Fall Plant Care
Posted on: Friday, November 10, 2006
Fall Plant CarePlants
October is the last month to fertilize water lilies. As the days shorten and the temperatures drop, your hardy water lilies will slowly stop growing. You'll see fewer and fewer leaves and flowers until finally all that is left is a pot on the bottom of the pond with 2-3 submerged leaves. As the lily prepares for winter,continue pruning the aging leaves as usual. The lily can be left in your pond all winter. Remember most of these plants will survive winter because they are protected by the unfrozen water in the pond.
Tropical lilies are different
Unlike the hardy lilies, tropicals are still partying in the pond, blooming and growing all fall and on into winter. How long depends on when and how frequently cold fronts arrive. After 2-3 freezes most of the flowers and leaves will be gone until Spring. If the winter is mild then the lily will be back next year. If the winter is cold, there is a chance you'll lose the tropical lily. Click here for tips on how to overwinter your tropical lily.
How can I tell a tropical lily from a hardy lily?
By the leaves! The edges of Hardy water lilies are smooth. The edges of tropical lilies are crimped (botanically termed "crenate") as in the edge of a pie. Other differences: the flowers of hardy lilies are held close to the water surface, tropicals thrust their flowers 6-12" above the water surface. One of Rolf's favorite trick question for new staff members is to aske them: "Where are the blue hardy lilies?" If they paid attention, they'd know there is no such thing. Nor is there such a thing as a night blooming hardy water lily. Therefore if you have a blue flowers or a night blooming placent, it's a tropical water lily.
Those bog plants that are not evergreen will die back after the first freeze, simply prune off the dead foliage and leave the pots alone until spring. Mosaic and Sensitive plants will not survive a Houston winter.
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