"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"Alex Woodward" wrote
Bob, you seem to have a quite a bit of experience of water gardens and
water lilies, whereas I only dug and planted my first pond 1 year ago.
The marliacea carnea started to push up quite large pads straight away
last year (I planted in mid June '04) however, they never bloomed. Do you
think I can expect this lily at least, to show it's true colours this
summer? I would truly like to see my pond in mid summer looking similar
to a picture postcard. Any chance you think?

For those that don't know, N. marliacea "Carnea" is a strong growing pink
flowered hybrid with large dark green leaves.
In it's second season it should be strong enough to flower but even then
it will get better every year until it needs repotting. Some say repot
every few years but my Gladstoneana has not been repotted for a decade and
still it thrives but then it does have lots of nutrients from the large
fish it shares the pond with. :-) However I think it may need splitting
up soon.
Water lillies do need sun to flower, some demand full sun and others can
make do with a few hours daily, if your pond is in shade you will not get
many flowers if any.


By the way, what do you mean by a 'forced plant'. I am not an experienced
gardener by any means, therefore this term is lost on me.

Grown in a polytunnel or under glass (in heat) to force the plant into
growth earlier than it normally would.

Ah, both lilies I purchased were taken from pots under glass. There was a
small amount of water, no more than 1 1/2 inches, above the soil in it's
container.

Is it possible for the layman to easily distinguish between the water lily
varieties simply by looking at its pads?

My pond gets between 8 to 5 hours of sun a day. A shadow slowly creeps over
the pond which explains the difference. I believe that should be enough to
encourage the lilies to bloom. The Solfatare should get 8 hours a day,
especially during mid-summer.


Oh, and if you are interested in water lilies look up the French
hybridiser Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac. (he made you plant in the 1860's)
who took his knowledge to his grave.

Thanks for the tip.

Alex