How to Grow Water Lilies From Seed
Water lilies are beautiful aquatic plants, featuring bright green floating leaves and delicate, waxy-looking blossoms. Despite their exotic appearance, water lilies are not difficult to grow and maintain. These attractive plants are classified as either hardy water lilies or tropical water lilies. Hardies go dormant in winter and may be left in the water or stored, while tropicals require a water temperature of 70 degrees, and must be removed from ponds in the winter. Although you can plant your water lilies as tubers, you can also successfully grow them from seeds. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Fertilized seed pod
- Bucket
- Distilled water
- Garden soil
- Plastic margarine tubs
- Fine white sand
- Aquarium or fishbowl
- Grow light
- Bone meal
- Aquatic plant fertilizer
Instructions
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Locate promising seed pods. To identify a fertilized water lily blossom, look for a submerged flower that appears to be on a coiled or spiraled stem. If a flower has not been fertilized, it will float downward in the water with a straight stem.
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After the flower has been submerged for 10 days, harvest the seedpod and place it in a pail of distilled water. When the pod ruptures, the tiny seeds will release into the water, along with their flotation arils. The arils will dissolve within a few days; the tiny seeds will remain.
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Retrieve viable seeds. Viable seeds will be gray, green, or brown in color, and will tend to sink to the bottom. Discard any seeds that are tan, white, or reddish, as these will not germinate. If the seeds are from a tropical lily, you can dry them off with a paper towel and store them in the refrigerator until needed. Seeds from hardy varieties must be stored in distilled water until they are planted. Don't disturb the gelatin-like covering over the seeds.
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Fill a margarine tub with good-quality garden soil and spread the seeds evenly across the surface. Don't use potting soil; it is too finely textured for underwater use.
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Cover seeds by sprinkling a fine layer of white sand over them.
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Place the margarine tub in a shallow aquarium or fishbowl filled with distilled water. The soil surface should not be more than three inches underwater.
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Provide the seeds with plenty of warmth and light, but be careful not to burn the tender sprouts. A grow light, suspended 18 to 24 inches from the seeds, is ideal.
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Gently remove the water lily seedlings when their first leaves reach the surface of the water, usually within a few weeks of planting, and wash them clean of soil.
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Re-pot your seedlings by filling some margarine tubs halfway up with bone meal and aquatic plant fertilizer, carefully placing a seedling in each, and filling the pot the rest of the way with garden soil.
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Submerge the tubs in two to four inches of water.
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In about six months, your water lilies will be ready for transplanting outdoors in a pond or water garden.
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Tips & Warnings
Never use an algaecide on your water lily seedlings, even if it has been advertised as safe for use on fishes and aquatic plants.
