How to Grow A Viviparous Water Lily

Tropical Viviparous Lilies make new plantlets from the leaf…

In order to grow a viviparous water lily, follow these steps:

1. 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″.)
2. Float it upside down in the water garden
3. Come back in a week or two and check the progress of your vivip.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Place the newly planted vivip in about 8-12″ of water in a sunny location  (at least 5 hours of direct sun)
7. Continue to fertilize and watch your lily grow!