From our perspective as water lilies (Nymphaea spp.), the method of beginning your journey with us—from a tuber or a seed—fundamentally changes your experience and our early development. We, the mature plants, primarily propagate through our robust root structures called tubers or rhizomes. This is our preferred method for you, the gardener, as it is significantly faster and guarantees you will get a plant identical to the parent. Growing from our seeds is a much longer, more unpredictable process, often used by hybridizers to create new varieties, as the resulting plant may not look like its parent.
Before you plant us, you must prepare our home. We are aquatic plants, meaning our roots must be submerged in water while our leaves and flowers float on the surface. We require a spacious, still-water environment like a pond or a large, sunken container. The most critical factor is sunlight; we need at least 6 hours of direct, full sun each day to photosynthesize properly and produce our stunning blooms. Without it, we will become leggy and fail to flower.
If you start with our tuber, select a wide, shallow pot with no drainage holes. Fill it two-thirds with a heavy clay-loam soil or a specialized aquatic planting media. Do not use lightweight potting mixes with perlite or peat, as they will float away. Gently place our tuber in the soil at a 45-degree angle with the growing tip (the "eye") pointing upwards and near the center. Cover the tuber with more soil, leaving the tip slightly exposed. Top the soil with a layer of gravel or small stones to prevent it from clouding the water. Slowly submerge the pot in your pond, starting at a shallow depth (4-6 inches). As our leaves grow towards the surface, you can gradually move the pot to its final depth of 12-18 inches.
Starting from our seed is a test of patience. Our seeds require a period of cold stratification to break dormancy; this mimics the natural winter cycle. You must scarify the seed coat lightly with sandpaper and then soak us in warm water for 24-48 hours, changing the water daily. Sow us in small pots filled with a clay-based soil and submerge them in very shallow, warm water (around 70-75°F). It can take several weeks or even months for us to germinate. Once we develop several floating leaves, we can be treated like a young tuber plant and gradually moved to deeper water. This process can take 2-3 years before we are mature enough to produce our first flower.
To thrive and produce those stunning blooms you desire, we need consistent care. Feed us regularly during our growing season with specialized aquatic plant fertilizer tablets pressed into the soil near our roots. Remove any yellowing leaves or spent flowers to keep our energy focused on new growth and to maintain the beauty of our aquatic display. In colder climates, if our pond freezes solid, you should move our pot to the deepest part of the pond for winter or bring us indoors to a cool, dark place until spring returns.
