Water Hyacinths vs. Water Lilies

Can the Hyacinths hinder the bloom of my Hardy Waterlilies? Do they need light on the top of the pot or anything? They have good leaves, stuck a bunch of fertilizer sticks in the the pot in April, but nuthin :( Is it too late for them to bloom here now?

Thanks for any advice
Vi

My gut feeling is NO.. Hyacinths should not effect your lily bloom.

I'm a little confused about "light on top of the pot"

Most lilies really need full sun to bloom. So if you are saying that the pot is so full of hyacinths that that lilies are not getting sun - then I say yes..they are definately not good for the lilies :)

Main reasons lilies may not bloom well :
1) not enough sun

2) not deep enough in the water - most hardy lilies like to be at least 18" deep or more

3) under fertilized

4) over fertilized ( a bunch of sticks in April - I assume you mean you put a couple of stick sin each pot ) well this is mid June.. most lily folks call for monthly fertilization. !)

Is this clear as mud... :)

Thanks Charlotteda, the (MG) food plant sticks said they last for 3 months. I put 3 in each 1 qt pot. They are deep enough and in sun. So did I put in too many sticks or not enough? Last year they had bloomed in early May--just once. Do they keep reblooming? I know once had the name of "Souix" in it. How do you know when to repot, is 1 qt big enough?


I really appreciate your quick reply :)

Well.. I dont have "sioux" but hardy lilies need bigger pots.. much bigger than tropicals...though the more dwarf variety of hardies can do well in smaller containers and I think sioux is a smaller one -you have it in a "too small" pot .

Plant food sticks do not last 3 months.. I know they tell us this - but they lie :)

If I were fertilzing a quart pot... I would probably only use 1 stick- for a gallon size 2 - bigger 3.

Yes... they should bloom all summer...hardies do not bloom as much as tropicals but you should get periods of bloom throughout the season.

Yes these lilies that we are containing in pots do need divided - at least yearly for me if not more- and of course the size of the pot you have in it matters too. mostly likely overcrowding is why you are not getting blooms.

No matter what size pond we have we all tend to overcrowd our ponds with lilies.. I dont know what size your watergarden is but assuming you have the room...this is what I would do...

put your lilies in the biggest pot you have room for... doesnt have to be deep just wide... those somewhat big square watergarden plant pots they sell at Lowes for about $3 are what most of my hardies are in... I fill the pot with my lily planting soil mixture and then plant the lily on top with pebbles. A few of my more expensive lilies that I sell babies from to finance my plant desires are in black plastic oil changing pans from Walmart...works great but heavy to lift out.

Smaller lily you can use a smaller pot but it is never good to put a hardy lily in any pot smaller than a gallon. Those "Azalea" one gallon pots that are wider than tall are wonderful...

Repot your lily... dont have time this morning to explain how but just do a seach on web for "how to repot a hardy lily" and you will get bunches of info.. if you use the proper soil/fert etc... you still have time to get blooms this summer...

I've sold a few lilies this summer and they are very tough plants...

glad to ask any specific questions once you do some basic research..good luck

charlotte