Method and Precautions for Cultivating Water Lilies
The editor will share with everyone the methods and precautions for cultivating water lilies, as well as knowledge about the green plants and flowers for planting water lilies in ponds. Let's follow the editor to see the specific content!
Water lilies are perennial aquatic plants, and whether potted or pond-grown, they have a unique charm. So, what are the good methods for cultivating water lilies? What precautions need to be taken? Please keep your questions in mind and read on with me!
Water Lily Cultivation Methods (Basic Knowledge):
Best Propagation Time: The propagation time for water lilies is between March and April. Tropical seeds are usually one month later than common seeds, with May to June being the suitable period. This is when the new buds of the old bulbs will start to grow, and it should not exceed the end of June.
Best Growing Soil: Water lilies are not very picky about soil quality, with a pH range of 6 to 8 being suitable for normal growth, but they prefer rich organic loamy soil.
Humidity Requirements: The optimal water depth for water lilies is 25 to 30 cm, and it should not exceed 80 cm. During the hot season, it is important to keep the pot water clean and change the water when it becomes murky.
Best Growing Temperature: The ideal sowing temperature for water lilies is between 25 and 30°C. In the cold winter, they should be stored in a warm room to survive, with the minimum temperature tolerance being around 13°C. Cold-tolerant water lilies can survive above 0°C.
Best Light for Growth: The most important factor for growing water lilies: light. Sufficient light determines whether water lilies can grow well, with more light and warmer temperatures resulting in better growth and a shorter dormant period. Therefore, if you want to grow water lilies, you need to first assess whether you can provide a place with adequate light.
Precautions for Cultivating Water Lilies:
Applying Fertilizer:
(1) For pond cultivation, the water should be drained in early spring, base fertilizer applied, and then new pond mud added before refilling with water. When fertilizing, apply long-acting fertilizer or root fertilizer about every one and a half to two months, 3 to 5 cm away from the bulb, but do not add after the end of September as it is approaching autumn and the water lilies will enter a dormant period, and fertilizing can cause root rot.
(2) For pot cultivation, the pot should have an internal diameter and depth of at least 40cm x 60cm. Every spring, around the time of the vernal equinox, combine division and potting with changing the soil, adding decomposed soybean cake residue or bone meal, hoof pieces, and other fertilizers rich in phosphorus and potassium as base fertilizer at the bottom of the pot. The rhizome part should be padded with at least 30 cm of fertile river mud, covered with soil until the top bud is submerged, and then placed in the pond, maintaining a water depth of 40 to 50 cm. During the hot season, keep the water clean and remove the remnants after flowering, and fertilize as needed.
Watering Tips: In summer, fill the pot with water to a depth of about 25 cm and maintain this depth. During the hot season, keep the pot water clean and change the water when it becomes murky.
Pruning Tips: Removing spent flowers and withered leaves after flowering can maintain the beauty of the plant. Normally, too many leaves can be pruned.
Propagation Tips:
1. Division Propagation: This is the main method of propagation for water lilies, done in early spring (March to April) when the buds are just starting to sprout. Dig up the rhizome, divide it into several pieces with a sharp knife, ensuring each piece has at least two full buds, and plant them in pond or缸 mud.
2. Seed Propagation: Place black, oval, plump seeds in clean water and seal them for storage until the following spring. Germinate in water at 35°C to 30°C, changing the water daily, and they will sprout in about two weeks. When the seedlings are 3 to 4 cm tall, they can be planted in the pond, ensuring sufficient water depth.
Changing Potting Soil: Change the potting soil every spring around the time of the vernal equinox, combining division.
Disease and Pest Control:
(1) Rot Disease: Promptly remove diseased plants and spray with a 50% carbendazim wettable powder 600x solution mixed with a 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder 600x solution.
(2) Leaf Rot Disease: Clear away diseased remnants at harvest, deeply burying or burning them to reduce the source of the fungus; spray with a 50% carbendazim wettable powder 800x solution or a 70% methyl thiophanate wettable powder 800x solution or a 30% basic copper sulfate suspension 500x solution every 10 days, for 2 to 3 times.
(3) Anthracnose: Collect and dispose of diseased debris during the growing season. Promptly remove diseased plants and spray with a 50% carbendazim wettable powder 600x solution, a 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder 600x solution, a 36% methyl thiophanate suspension 500x solution, a 50% carbendazim wettable powder 1500x solution, or an 80% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder 800x solution, every 10 days, for 2 to 3 times.
(4) Small Leaf Beetle: This is a devastating pest that overwinters in vegetation near the pond edge, laying eggs on the leaf surface in late spring. It can produce 2 to 3 generations per season. During this time, wash the leaves with water, and if larvae are present, spray with a 1200x solution of cypermethrin.
(5) Water Lily Aphid: This pest affects many soft-leaved aquatic plants, invading leaves and flower stems in the summer, causing discoloration of the flowers. Their eggs overwinter on Prunus species, especially on plum and hawthorn trees, and less commonly on cherry trees. Avoid planting large numbers of Prunus species near the water or wash these host plants with tar in winter, or rinse the leaves with a water jet and spray insecticides.
(6) Snails: When affected, mix furadan or dichlorvos with sawdust, put it in a cloth bag, tie it to the leaf stalk, and let the bag float on the water surface, allowing the pesticide to disperse and kill the pests. Biological control methods are also effective, such as releasing 5 kg of loach in an area of 1000m2 of water surface to effectively prevent the spread of pests.
(7) Algae: Spray with a 0.3% to 0.5% copper sulfate solution.
(8) Aphids: Affected leaves can be sprayed with a 1000 to 1200x solution of dichlorvos, or a 50% dimethoate emulsion 2000 to 2500x solution.
Experience in Cultivating Water Lilies:
(1) Water lilies are plants that thrive in strong light, requiring well-ventilated, warm, and calm water surfaces. Clean water quality is particularly important. Otherwise, the leaves will rot. If placed in a shaded and poorly ventilated area, the water surface is prone to algae growth, causing the plant to grow weakly, with only leaves and no flowers.
(2) For pot cultivation, the pot should have an opening facing outward, as leaves facing outward grow better than those facing inward. The wider the pot opening, the larger the flowers (this is not related to the size of the pot bottom), and the deeper the pot, the longer the flowering interval.
(3) As the temperature drops in autumn and winter, water lilies also enter a dormant period. It is best not to disturb them during this time, except to add water when it is low. Varieties with spotted leaves have a longer dormant period than those without spots, and light-colored varieties have a longer dormant period than dark-colored ones.
(4) Pay attention to changing the potting soil and promptly controlling pests and diseases!
The above methods and precautions for cultivating water lilies and the experience of planting them in ponds are shared for your reference. I hope this article can provide you with some help!