Lotus blooms are always a highlight here at Garden Ponds over the summer months. One of the most alluring features of the lotus is how ephemeral it is – making each bloom revered. Eventually lotus leaves will all turn brown, and the vibrant summer blooms and robust aerial leaves will be a distant summer memory. What once was the feature of your water garden will become a humble pot of dirt.
You may find it difficult to resist the urge to trim unsightly lotus leaves as they turn brown and dry out. Knowing how and where to prune your lotus leaves is very important. One must not trim the lotus stems below the water’s surface. Since the stem of the lotus is hollow, water will flood the rhizome, drowning that section of the lotus tuber if it is cut below the water’s surface.
You may take three courses of action as your lotus enters dormancy:
- Trim leave stalks above the high-water level and allow the lotus to sleep until spring.
- Wait until the leaves turn brown and lower your lotus pot to the bottom of your water garden or;
- Move to the shade and top with water over the winter.
Lotus Pro tips:
- Do not fertilize your lotusin dormancy, wait until you have three standing leaves in the spring.
- Place a water lily over top of the dormant lotus for the winter.
- Trim drying lotus leaves with scissors, cutting off the dry leaf matter but leaving the center intact (see photo). This keeps an appealing water scape without compromising the lotus rhizome.
- Repot your lotus yearly in the early spring and watch with wonder as it wakes up from the muck.
What to do with the empty space once my lotus goes to ‘sleep’?
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.
Water Lily Feature: Dauben/Daubinia
An easy viviparous lily to grow in lower light water gardens is the charming Dauben or Daubinia, requiring only 4 hours of sun per day.
Dauben was the first official hybrid waterlily, (Daubeny 1863) and was crossed with the Egyptian Nymphaea caerulea (the Blue Lotus of the Nile). A truly mystical flower depicted in Ancient Egyptian art and cultural practices, and even found in the tomb of King Tut for the afterlife. It is not the ‘showiest’ lily in the water garden, but with its consistent blooms and light requirement versatility, it is not to be overlooked!
Why we love Dauben/Daubenia:
- blooms happily all year here in Hawaii.
- green pads with pale speckles
- versatile size from one foot spread or up to a 5 foot spread in bigger ponds, making it ideal for both small water container gardens or larger water features.
- can be ‘dwarfed’ to stay small making it oh-so-cute.
- Each bloom is white with lavender blue hues closer to the tips of the petals, and yellow stamens with pale blue frosted tips.
- Flowers are free flowing and can range from 1”to 5” wide depending on the size of the pot of dirt it is grown in.
- Prolific bloomer!
Perhaps the best thing about this tropical water lily is how easy it is to grow, producing 100 blooms a year here in Hawai’i! Each flower lasts four days, closing at night, with the first day blossom being a female and the second to fourth day blossoms being male (so…100 blooms a year that each last for 4 days is…. A LOT of blooms!).
Not only does this lily bloom almost daily, but it is also tolerant of partial shade. Most lilies need 5-8 hours of full direct sun, however, Dauben can thrive in as little as four hours of direct sun, a day, making it especially desirable for placing in water gardens that get less light or dappled light. More sun will always be welcome for all water lilies, so four hours is the minimum light required to thrive for this variety here in Hawaii.
Garden Ponds is located in Kilauea, next to the Kauai Mini Golf. We are open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Give us a call at 808-828-6400 or visit our websites www.gardenpondskauai.com (nursery website) or www.indopacificemporium.com (online store). To read more water gardening posts visit here.
