Why Choose Tropical Water Lilies

Tropical water lilies are referred to as “tropicals” because of their dislike for cold weather. Like annual plants in your garden beds, tropical water lilies die off in the winter and need to be replaced the following pond season. Even so, there are many benefits to choosing tropical water lilies for your pond.

• Tropical water lilies are available in the same color as hardies, but they’re also available in blues, purples, and violets … exceedingly rare colors in the entire water plant spectrum.

• They are intensely fragrant with a pleasing and pervasive aroma, which immediately causes anyone standing within a few feet to be swept up in olfactory heaven.

• The flowers rise 6 to 12 inches above the water, giving the plant a three-dimensional effect.

• The flowers are much larger than the flowers of most hardy water lilies.

• Tropical water lilies are available in both day and night-blooming models.

• The plants can get rather large and showy.

• Their long stems make them an excellent choice for cut flowers.

• The leaves on some varieties can be mottled and streaked with purple, deeply toothed, deeply veined undersides, and can easily attain diameters of 15 inches.

• Tropical water lilies bloom much more profusely than hardies, with three to five blooms open on most days during warm weather.

Other than the obvious downside of annual mortality and the additional expense associated with yearly replacement, there is little reason not to enjoy a tropical water lily in your pond. The cost is probably less than what you spend on flats of marigolds and petunias!