Here's a Question...

I picked up a bargain pot of something called 'water parsley' at a big box store about a month ago.  They had a whole table full of water plants for a buck each.  The water parsley is nice, but I really spent Mark's dollar on the two tiny water lily leaves I saw in the pot.

I have since separated the obviously rangy Oenanthe sarmentosa (also called javanica?) from its lilliputian pot mate. 

 

I am hoping that the lily will turn out to be a Helvola.  This Nymphaea (water lily) is a miniature that only spreads from 1 to 3 square feet, so an 18" pot can be sufficient for it to thrive.  It is known for multiple blooms and has a lovely butter yellow flower.  (Those leaves in the photo on the right are dime-sized or smaller... a tiny, tiny thing, this lily.)

So here is my question.  I have a lily that is (potentially) hardy to zone four, if it doesn't freeze.  It is currently sited in a pot on an unheated sunporch, which will dip down to freezing in mid-winter, when I usually bring the tender plants out there into the house for a bit.  The Missouri Botanical Garden site suggests lifting the rhizomes for winter and storing them in a "cool root cellar or garage where winter temperatures do not dip below freezing but preferably do remain in the 40-45 degree F range."  Which sounds to me that the plant should be dormant when you lift it? I have an active (if slow) growing plant. 

Does anyone out there have water lily advice? 

Comments

[jenn]

Nope. Apparently not. sigh.

[Kristen]

Here's my advice... with the caveat that it has been 10 years since I've messed with water plants and I never grew any lilies. :-)

I would keept it wet on the porch and let it stay there for another month, being careful to not let the water freeze. I imagine as it gets colder it will stop growing completely. Then you can lift it out and store it, maybe wrapped in newspaper in a container and on an inner wall of the house for some limited warmth. Make sense?

[jenn]

Thanks. It does seem to have gone dormant. When the temps on the porch drop dramatically, I'm going to try your advice. (Usually around January we start to get skim ice out there, right around then, I think.)