MAYLA

Hardy lilies can have pink, salmon, peach, orange, red, yellow and white flowers.  They also produce changeable blooms.  Changeable means when the bloom opens a certain color, usually yellow, and then changes to red or orange by the fourth to fifth day.  Most hardy lily blooms rest on the water; however, there are some exceptions where the blooms stand above the water.

 

Hardy lilies are considered a perennial plant; they go dormant in the winter as soon as the water gets to 55 degrees and colder.  Hardy lilies could survive temperatures as low as those in Zone 3.  Their survival will depend on the depth of the water in the pond and how deep the freeze line will be.  In areas where there is very little cold weather or no cold weather at all, the lilies won’t go dormant until far into the winter months, and will come out of the dormant period after just a month or two. Lilies in colder climates will usually start to come out of the dormant stage when the water reaches 55-60 degrees again.  There are some variety of lilies that prefer cooler regions and some that prefer the warmer regions.  How well they do will be determined by this factor.

 

Hardy lilies come in a variety of sizes, there are pygmy, small, medium and large lilies.  Pygmy lilies have a leaf spread of 1-2 feet.  Small lilies 1-3 feet, medium lilies 3-5 feet and large lilies 6-12 feet.  Many people want to know if leaf spread means the size of the individual leaves.  Leaf spread is referring to the area that the leaves will cover on the surface of the water.  Be aware that the performance of the plant is going to be determined by the water temperature and the amount of sun the plants will be getting.  During the growing season, the plants need to be fed properly.  You also have to be sure the plants are placed at the correct water depth. 

 

Some hardy lilies will produce their blooms earlier in spring, and some will bloom only in the early spring to early summer.  Some varieties will produce blooms all summer long, and then there are some that will produce a bloom occasionally; usually, these varieties will have a bloom well worth waiting for.

 

The pads or leaves of the hardy lily will rest on the water.  Most of the time, the topside of the lily pads of hardy lilies are green and the bottom can be reddish brown, purplish or green. There are a few with mottling or speckling on the leaves.  One in particular hardy has splashes of pink and cream on its pads. 

 

With so many different hardy lilies to chose from you are sure to find the ones that will fit perfectly in your pond, whether you have a small, medium or large water garden.