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?
