Tropical Viviparous Lilies make new plantlets from the leaf…
In order to grow a viviparous water lily, follow these steps:
- Prune a leaf from a tropical viviparous water lily that has a ‘vivip’ or small ‘fuzzy spot’ on the center of the water lily pad. (cut stem can be as long as 6″ or as short as 1″.)
- Float it upside down in the water garden
- Come back in a week or two and check the progress of your vivip.
- You should notice the leaf decaying and small leaves forming from the vivip. You may remove the decaying leaf material, being sure to leave the center intact.
- When you have white roots that are 3-4″ long and at least two small pads, you may place a rock over the roots to anchor the plantlet into a small pot of dirt, feeding it no more than a quarter tablet of our water lily fertilizer.
- Place the newly planted vivip in about 8-12″ of water in a sunny location (at least 5 hours of direct sun)
- Continue to fertilize and watch your lily grow!
The Ebb and Flow of Precious Aquatic Flowers: How to transition your water garden after lotus dormancy | Garden Ponds Nursery
[…] Knowing your lotus will go dormant, you can plan for the next few months in your water garden. August is a great time of year to start your own viviparous water lily from a leaf. The lily will grow in and fill the now empty space left by the dormant lotus. In the spring you can move the water lily to another location, or gift it to a friend or neighbor to start their very own water garden. In Ancient Egypt, gifting water lily blossoms was seen as a gesture of friendship and goodwill. To learn more about how to grow a lily from a vivip, check out this post on how to grow a water lily from a viviparous leaf here. […]