Last week we discussed how to plant your water lilies. This week we will focus on the bloom. Water lilies flower for 3 – 5 days, with the bloom emerging from the murky depths on the first day, opening, and standing erect. On the second day, the flower starts to bend slightly, slouching more on the third day and falling back into the water by the fifth.
Once the bloom disappears back into the water, it is a good idea to take your hand and run it down the stem until you get close to the base, then either snap or cut it off. The water lily stem will start to get mushy as it ages, and sometimes a good tug is all you need.
In a pond situation, the flower head forms seeds that eventually find their home on the muddy floor of the pond. As a homeowner, however, you are probably interested in maximizing your bloom. Seed production takes energy away from flowering, so try to remove old flowers and foliage once a week to keep your water lily tidy and focused on producing flowers.
New York might not strike many as a hibiscus state. Not at first. But set foot in the Home Gardening Center in August, and you could find yourself fooled (however briefly) into thinking you’ve landed in Hawaii, or Florida–spots where locals have an easy time landscaping their homes with these flowers. They show up in sunny yellows, punch bowl pinks, and whites punctuated with contrasting reds. In our trial beds, however, we’re spreading the word that hibiscus aren’t limited to places with palm trees; some species are just as suitable for your native plant garden here in the Empire State!
Like the water lilies in the Conservatory pools, species of hibiscus are divided into two groups: hardy and tropical. The latter, with its broad scope of color, does well outdoors in the beach states mentioned above; they’re not big fans of frigid temperatures. But here at the NYBG, we cultivate the former variety: hardy hibiscus, equipped to handle the weather patterns New Yorkers are used to, while boasting all the cocktail umbrella charm of their tropical counterparts. A few species, such as Hibiscus moscheutos, can even be found growing natively in New York’s wetlands.
