About Tropical Lilies

Text Box: If you enjoy lots of blooms the tropical lilies are for you. Even if you live in an area where tropical lilies may not survive the winter, you will enjoy many blooms and magnificent leaves all summer long. These tropical beauties come in blue, purple, blue-green, lavender, peach-yellow-orange combination, red, white, yellow and pink. There are also tropical lilies that bloom at night, these come in red, white, and pink. They also range from small to large leaf spreads. Most of the tropical lilies will give you multiple blooms all summer long, sometimes there can be up to 4 or 5 blooms at one time. This past summer I had a tropical lily called Rhonda Kay, that had 9 blooms at one time. Tropical lily blooms are held above the water and some will hold their blooms as high as 2 feet. The leaves of the tropical lilies vary in size and shape, most of them are at least 12 inches in diameter at maturity, and many are striking with mottled or speckled leaves. There is one variety where the leaves are green and have a purplish brown spider web design on them. Tropical Lilies are considered annuals in most zones, just like petunias, marigolds and tomato plants. These water lilies prefer warm and humid weather and warm water in order to bloom year round. In fact they are considered to be perennial only in Zone 9 and above. For a closer look at the meaning of tropical see what tropical means. As with all water plants the water temperature is the most important factor for tropical lilies. They like water temperatures of 75 degrees and warmer both day and night time. The length of time your tropical lilies will keep going will depend on your climate. Some areas of the U.S. don’t get the colder fall and winter weather as soon as other regions. Some regions have mild winters and depending on the water temperatures the tropical lilies may winter over in the milder regions. Take note I am saying they MAY winter over. For more information on how to try and winter over tropical lilies in zones 8 and below see over-wintering tropical lilies. Tropical lilies on my farm here in zone 5 will bloom from late April through late September. This depends on the variety of tropical lily some of the tropical lilies can tolerate a little cooler water temperatures and outside temperatures. This past fall in late October there were two tropical lilies that were still blooming outside in my koi pond. By that time we had already had some frosty mornings which means it was pretty cold the night before. Night blooming lilies sleep during the day and usually open around 9:00 p.m. and will continue to bloom until about 10:00 am the following day. It is an awesome sight to see a night blooming lily open by the light of the moon. The night blooming lilies leaves, have serrated edges and one variety has an oval shape instead of a round shape. One of the red varieties of night blooming lilies has reddish brown leaves which usually change to greenish brown as the leaves mature. I know once you have had tropical lilies in your pond you will want to have them there every year, many of our customers that have never ordered a tropical before, will just order one and the following season they will usually order two or three or more!!!

Text Box: Pictured above are three night blooming tropical lilies. Night blooming lilies open at about 9:00 p.m. and stay open till the next morning. These lilies may be the best for those of you that are not able to enjoy the hardy lilies and day blooming tropical lilies that bloom during the day. One of my favorite times is in the evening when I can to sit by the pond listening to the night sounds, and watching these awesome night blooms open especially on a moonlit night! Another wonderful characteristic of night blooming lilies is their fragrance. You can enjoy the fragrance as the gentle breeze picks up their scent and surrounds the pond.