Nymphaea alba
white water lily - grows very large
Large, cup-shaped, white flowers up to 20cm across, with a double ruff of white petals enclosing a yellow centre, sit like crowns atop round, dark green floating leaves from June to September. It is an excellent choice for a large, deep, wildlife pond, where the dark green leaves create a shady underwater habitat for native fish and amphibians. The shade cast by the foliage also helps check the spread of algae.
How to care for Nymphaea alba:
Water lilies flourish in still water, so do not plant them near a pond pump or fountain, particularly where the water can splash onto their leaves. The 1-litre waterlilies are potted up (using a suitable aquatic compost) into aquatic pots. These pots are made of a fine mesh, which allows water to circulate through the compost, providing the plants with both oxygen and nutrients. As they are already potted, all you need to do is to place the pot into the pond, but this young plant will need potting up into a larger aquatic pot (using aquatic compost) within a few months. Initially the pot should be placed on a stack of bricks so the leaves float on the surface of the water. As the plant matures, remove one layer of bricks at a time, gradually lowering the plant deeper into the pond until the desired depth has been reached. If you are placing this water lily in the autumn or winter when it has died back, place it at a depth of 50-60cm. Then in the spring repot it into a larger pot and lower as the plant grows.
Flowering period:
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Eventual height:
0.1m
Eventual spread:
1.75m
Position:
Full sun
Rate of growth:
Average
Soil:
Aquatic
Hardiness:
Fully hardy
-
This pond plant dies right back in autumn, then fresh new growth appears again in spring.
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