WATER-LILY CULTURE

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 139, 15 June 1933, Page 20

WATER-LILY CULTURE

SUITABLE PONDS

Water-lilios do best when grown in still water or where there is not too much current. Where a pond is available or where one can be formed, the depth should not be less than two feet, to allow the leaves and.flowers to float gracefully on the surface. .In forming a. pond the design should be as informal as possible, with the object of (jiving it .•I. natural appearance. The lily roots burrow into, and thrive on the silt and mud at tiio bottom. The pond maybe lined with concrete, but the upper part will look better if some rough _ stones are worked into the cement, hiding the formality. If a few aquatic and inur.su plants a'ro set on the banks and in the water they will help in the same way. PIiANTINO THE LILIES. If the lilies can be placed in position before the pond is filled it greatly simplifies the opcratiou. The roofs should be covered with somo good loam aud decayed manure- and a circle of stones oi- bricks placed roinid each plant to keep it in position. To ensure the roots not getting disturbed when the water is let in a few flat stones /may be placed on top of them, leaving the crowns of the plants clear. When the lilies have to go into a pool or stream already full of water, the way to plant them is to put. them into baskets filled with soil, and then to drop the baskets into the desired position. The baskets should be fairly large, but need not be elaborate or strongly made, for they will soon decay,

leaving the lilies to ■'root in the mud or | natural soil. If there is any j'earof the lilies floating out or the soil being I washed away, tho baskets can be 1 covered with a piece of! canvas, flic j | growth being brought through a hole in the top. The plants should not be crowded, or] I the foliage and flowers will rise in heaps j I instead of gracefully floating on the j water. With the smaller varieties a I space of from one and a half to two feet between each root is suflicient, whilst thff large kinds should bo quite three feet opart.. Cultivation consists merely of seeing that the lilies haveplenty of water and agitating it now and then to prevent it getting stagnant. Adding fresh water now and then will help to keep it in fit condition. GOLDFISH OR NEWTS. A few goldfish or even., a few newts will do much to keep the water fresh; also they will see that it is not made a breeding-place for mosquitoes, eating the larvae of these tormenting pests before they have time to get on the wing. Water-lilies may quite well, be introduced into a garden even where no pond or stream is available. Though naturally the leaves and flowers are best displayed on a fairly broad sheet of water, excellent effects can be obtained j by growing these lilies in half-barrels j sunk in a lawn or in suitable spots in the rock garden. It is, of course, necessary to have the adequate depth, as the roots being confined a greater quantity of soil must be supplied. This should be at least a foot deep, with an equal depth of water over it. The lilies should be planted before tho water is added. Eain water is the best to use whore available, as it is softer and- better aerated .'than the ordinary tap water. If ordinary tap'water has to be used it should bo added a few eanfuls at a time, to avoid giving the plants too cold a start. With this method of growing tho water is much more likely to be; come stagnant, and this must bo avoided by changing part of the^vatcroccasioiiaily. The addition of a little charcoal will also help to keep the water sweet. Attention must be paid to sec that there is always an adequate supply of water, especially in the summer, when tho tub is liable to get dry.