What do I do with these plants?

18 years ago

I had bought a water lily at Home Depot in the spring and it did not grow. So I sent the required warranty info in July to the grower. TODAY I received 3 water lilies in the mail from them. I'm at a total loss as to what to do with them. I'm pretty sure it's too late for me to put them in my pond here on Long Island! How do I store them for the winter so they will be in good shape to drop in the pond in the spring? They are in packaging that consists of the following: first they are wrapped in dirt within netted bags (that you're just supposed to drop in the pond). Then the net bag is wrapped in a plastic bag. The bag is inserted inside a black plastic pot with a clear plastic dome lid. Tell me what to do to keep these alive over the winter!

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Comments (8)

catherinet
18 years ago
Hi gpacker,
I'm assuming that they are hardy lilies? If so, go ahead and pot them up and put them in your pond. They will be fine for next year. Just be sure to start fertilizing them in the spring, when they start growing. How deep is your pond?
lefd05
18 years ago
You DO NOT want to leave them in the net bags and drop them in the pond. Pot them up and put them in the pond. As long as they do not freeze solid they will be fine. Doing this now will actually give them some time over the winter to establish and they should start growing as soon as water temps start to warm up in the spring.
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gpacker
Original Author
18 years ago
Gee I'm really surprised you both say to put them in now. I'll pot them up and put them in this weekend.
catherinet
18 years ago
They are really hardy plants, fortunately. The thing is, though, if they don't grow next spring, you won't know for sure why. They may be dead already, just like the first one you got. Hopefully at least one of them will be good.
You just reminded me that I got a gamecock iris from Walmart that never grew. If I write to the company now, I hope they don't send me one soon! I can just see it arriving when its snowing out!
lefd05
18 years ago
gpacker........I do my repotting and dividing in the fall. In fact I'm still working at it to get it done. I do it now because if I wait until spring to do it, it sets the plant back too much and in my shorter growing season I won't see blooms. So, I do them in the fall so they will be established.
It really won't hurt them to pot them now.
akidleativy2
18 years ago
I'm in Northern California. My lily pond is only about 2 feet deep (1 foot of soil, 1 foot of water. Every winter the plants go dormant and the pond freezes over solid. When the weather begins to warm up again, up come the new shoots, more and more every year. So my advice is to plant it in a pot with plenty of soil to protect the roots, and stick it in your pond.
akalittleone
18 years ago
I started a pond this year. I have some iris' in the pond and other plants, but because I live in Minnesota I think I need to bring the plants inside. I have a molded pond and not very deep. How do I winterize these plants. Some say in water with light and some say sand. ?????? Gloria
jalal
18 years ago
Gloria. I live in Zone 3a which is probaly colder than Minnesota. I leave my iris in their pots on the plant shelves as well as bog bean, dwarf cattail, and some other grass can't remember the name of. I have hardy water lilies which I move to the deep end which is about 4 ft and let the pond freeze for winter. My ice can be anywhere from 18" to 2 ft thick and all plants survive. Lilies are slow to grow in spring but I don't have a cold room to store them in. Whoops just noticed you have a molded pond. Do you let it freeze?