Normally when you get a water lily tuber, whether you buy or get it from a friend it is small and takes a while to mature and produce leaves and finally a little longer to flower. This is the story of my most dependable water lily -The Dauben. It came to be as a tuber with just two tiny leaves. I planted it as usual(see youtube channel – letstalkgardens for how to plant a water lily) and within 3 days could see tiny buds coming up. Within a week I had three tiny water lily flowers. I thought well this must be it but this notion was clarified by experts who said the flowers grow bigger as the plant matures. Sure enough, as each day passed the size of the flower grew. The bees love them and often nestle in the flowers for a long time swinging gently in the summer breeze. This is one water lily that is a prolific bloomer. In fact, you can depend on it to have a flower every day if not two. The bees absolutely adore them as they have scarce food during the hot summer months in the Gulf.
Although water lilies are said to like the full sun I have given mine some shade in the hottest time of the day. They need to be fertilized at least once a month. I use the aquatic tablets but if unavailable the hack is to insert a foot-long plastic pipe into the soil so that the end peeps out of the pot. You can use this to deliver the NPK pellets into the soil so it is available to the roots. Putting the NPK into the water directly will not do as it clouds the water and the plant is not able to absorb everything.
Now for some facts about the Dauben –
The Dauben is a small tropical water lily that produces light blue star-shaped flowers. it is a prolific bloomer and adapts very well to small planting areas. It needs full sun to part shade and grows in US zones 9-11. To translate it grows and flowers well in the Gulf 10 months in the year. The months of December and January may not see full blooms as it can get quite cool but if exposed to the full sun it does flower in that time frame as well. It is a viviparous lily that can produce a flower off each of its leaves.
Remember to clear out the dead and decaying leaves and the decaying flowers regularly so as to keep the water clean and avoid snails. I also use EM1 balls to clear out the algae from the pot. Anti Algael drops are available in the US and people use Potassium Permanganate crystals to clear water gardens of snails and Algae. Both these are not available in the UAE though
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