Can anybody give me a quick run down of what the difference is in a pond? I will have pots to grow them in. No natural dirt on the bottom.
Fred
water lillies vs lotus
Hi Fred, I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you asking the difference between a water lily & lotus? The water lilies are round leaves with slits on one side and lay flat on the water surface. The flowers can bloom either night or day and come in red, pink, white, purple or yellow. The lotus has solid round leaves that start out floating on the surface but lift up later above the water and the seed pods to me are the amazing thing about lotus. Hope this helps.
Waterlilies are placed at the bottom of your pond, either potted or in the mud. The pads shoot up and float on the surface of the water. It sends up flower stems and the lilies bloom above the pads. The roots are typically placed 1' to 3' below the waters surface but all this varies depending on the lily and individual opinions.
Lotus are best grown in deep bogs of mud (lots of mud)with a couple of inches or so of water resting on the top but can be grown as deep as 8 ft.. They have a huge root system that will take a small pond in no time so it's best to grow them independently. On the larger varieties the pads and flowers are huge. They stand up out of the bog up to 5' and they are stunning.
While Water Lilies do very well Fl., lotus sometimes are not happy because of the heat and humidity and the mild winters that you have. They are perennial zone 4 - 10 and need that cold blast to survive to come back. Ironically if the tubers freeze they don't come back either, lol. That's why we grow them in bogs here, to keep them below the frost line.
Jerri
Well, I guess you partially answered my question but I was really interested in what difference there is in the pond. Are there advantages of one over the other? Disadvantages? Why do people chose one over the other or is it just like picking white flowers over red ones?
From what you say, the main difference is that water lillies stay flat on the water while Lotus rises up out of the water.
Does one "take over" more then the other? Here in SW Florida I'm always a little afraid of too much growth as we aren't here during the summer months and things have to sort of take care of themselves but not too much. :-)
In my last pond/waterfall the wall was made out of lava rock and by the fall the rock was one giant mess of ferns. You couldn't even see the rock anymore.
What are those water plants called which have those giant round leaves and which look like a floating flat saucer? YOu had them in your pond pictures.
Fred
Fred, we were replying at the same time so my reply is above yours. Here's a picture of how hardy waterlilies look in growing in the pond. They will grow much faster in florida than they do here so keep them potted. Also, tropical lilies have a much smaller root system and do very well in your climate, they are prettier too.
Here's lotus that I grow in it's own bog. It's hard to tell by the picture but this is over 4' tall.
branka,
My, they are beautiful flowers. I can't wait to have something like those water lilies blooming in my pond. You also explained what I was trying to find out. It seems that tropical water lilies are the way to go for me here. Every 20 or so years we have a little frost here but generally the high 30s is the low point every winter and thats only for a day or two.
Boy, that is a beautiful picture of your water lilies. I keep staring at it. Fantastic shot from a low angle just above the water. I'm going to print that out for myself as a goal to achieve. Glad you didn't mess it up with the ever-present copyright stuff on most pics in DG.
How long do water lilies bloom? Both seasonally and each flower.
Fred
Fred, I think you are referring to my Victoria Water lily. It is tropical and I grow it as an annual. It's from the Amazon and in the natural state there each leaf reached 6' or better. Mine is in a 3' pot which contains it somewhat and my leaves never got bigger than 3-4'. The plant is amazing. When it flowers the first night the flower is pure white. After pollination it closes up and the second night the same flower is the most gorgeous pink. AMAZING!!!!
Here is the same flower in the pink stage.
Some of the difference has to do with how much room you have and what you are looking for appearance wise. Water lily leaves grow on the surface of the water and leaves will usually range from the size of a coffe cup saucer to dinner plate size and stay on the surface. Depening on variety they are usually pretty free flowering if you have good sun. The blooms themselves last for several days and there are always more coming on. Tropical lilies can also have beautifully mottled leaves which add to their attraction. I have had water lilies go to seed and had hundreds of them sprout. The seed looks like a dust has settled over the surface of the water. They are easy to control at that point, just scoop out the little seedlings. I have not had problems with too many as they are killed off in our harsh winters here.
Lotus leaves are held far above the surface of the water and leaves get very large. They too are pretty good about blooming and also have a decorative seed pod. Both can be very invasive in a natural pond so I would recommend potting up whatever you choose to plant. One thing to keep in mind about Lotus is that those seeds can be there for years before they sprout, so you will want to get the seed heads out before they drop those seeds.Lotus seem to take over more quickly and can be more difficult to control.
Both are beautiful plants. Why not plant both if you have the room?