Texas Dawn has been an incredible waterlily for nearly 30 years, the wonderful yellow flowers on this hardy lily are held high above the water and blooms in profusion. Hybridizers also enjoy working with the cultivar by Ken Landon. Here are some videos from Ken Landon, Drew Darby, and Tim Davis.

Ken Landon

Drew Darby

Tim Davis

Texas Dawn waterlilies are available for purchase here.

Alexis waterlily, (below) blue waterlily at www.pondmegastore.com

Day 17, Three of the new Chinese Lotus, ‘Drunken Concubine out of Bath’ (left), ‘Red Lantern’ (right), and ‘Dasa Jin’ (back). Each is growing faster as return to warm days in the 80s and lows in the mid to upper 50s.

Later this week we begin rolling out Pond Megastore 3.0 with new improvements. The site will take a few week for all the new features but look forward to much easier navigation, many new pond products, much improved information on plants and planting information. The new site we hope will be more beneficial than any other water garden company has ever provided in the past.

Remember it will be rolled over time,  in steps over May 11th through June.

Please let PondMegastore.com know  what improvements you would like to see. We have almost 4000 facebook users taking advantage of our Facebook specials and information.

From Expert Growers Laura Bancroft, Bill Bancroft, and Dr. Ken Tilt:

“Put several inches of good topsoil – just plain dirt – into the pot. This topsoil can be purchased in bags at a garden center or dug from your pond bottom or yard. Do not use potting soil; it is too light and will float and foam when water is added and the lotus rhizomes tend to float when planted in it. Add enough water to raise the water level to about 2-3” above the soil. Place the tuber into the mud with the growing tips pointed up. Chinese growers leave the ‘tail’, the cut end, of the lotus root above water for a few days. Try not to cover the growing tips completely with soil. In a few days the true roots, small hair-like projections, will grow and anchor the tuber into the soil. Place the pot in a warm, sunny area. Be sure to replace the water as it evaporates.

The growing tips will soon give way to the first small leaves, called coin leaves. These leaves will float on the surface of the water as they begin the process of photosynthesis to help provide energy for the plant to grow. Within a few days the first aerial leaf will emerge from the water. At this time you can begin to raise the level of the water in the pot. When the weather outside has warmed up and chances of freezing have passed your lotus can be placed on your patio or put into your pond, preferably in full sun. Remember to plant the smaller varieties of lotus in shallower water than large varieties.

*Planting Lotus in Containers
Any water-tight rounded container with no holes is acceptable for growing lotus. The size of the pot is determined by the type of lotus you are growing with larger varieties requiring larger pots. The mature size of a lotus will be affected by the size of the pot in which it grows. Using a bigger pot allows more room for rhizome production, thus resulting in more and larger leaves and flowers. Larger pots will encourage the lotus to grow to the larger extreme for their variety. Planting the same lotus in a healthy pond environment will allow it to reach its full potential resulting in a plant much larger than if it had been planted in a small pot. Lotus classified as Exquisites of Bowl Lotus are prized for their ability to grow in the smallest pots, producing miniature lotus that can be brought inside easily for a day or two when they are in bloom.”
*Suggested pot sizes are:
Tea Cup or Exquisite of Bowl lotus: pot less than 11″ in diameter
Small or Bowl lotus – pot 12-15″ in diameter
Dwarf lotus – 16-20″ in diameter
Medium lotus – 18-30″ in diameter
Large lotus – 24-48″ in diameter

Let us know what you think – if you have questions – all these pond plants and waterlilies are available to buy (blooming size) at http://www.PondMegastore.com  

We should have new videos up and some big new features in the next 3-5 weeks. The biggest announcements in 4 years or more, some waterlilies we know you have never seen before. And that is how I will end this post with you wondering what is about to show up here.

The reason they are called Tea Cup lotus is that some varieties are small enough to do well in a container the size of a cup. Don’t Believe me? See N. Nopchai Chansilpa’s photo, Mangkala-patum, a bowl lotus growing in coffee cup!

Mangala-patum,a bowl lotus growing in a coffee cup!

Mangkala-Patum is not yet available in the United States, however two new selections from China are available. Glowing Clouds in Evening, a Small Tea-Cup lotus with often multiple blooms, Laura describes this as of the most beautiful pink lotus, ‘Glowing Clouds in Evening’ has a perfect cup-shaped blooms. The color is a brilliantly clear pink on the first day flower. Do not plant under more than about 4″ of water as this is a small lotus. ‘Ye Xia’ Chinese lotus.Glowing Clouds is pictured below with Golden Horse with Jade Belt on the right side with many flowers. Golden Horse with Jade belt, yet another Chinese import, look for multiple blossoms on this small tea-cup lotus throughout the summer.  This white flower can have either bright green petaloids or a green receptacle in a large double flower on a small plant. The newly opened bud has a greenish tint to the petals. ‘Yutang Jin Ma’ Chinese lotus import. Likes shallow water no more than about 4 inches over the roots. Does well in bowls or pots. Fertilize only after standing leaves. These lotus and many dozen more can be found at http://www.PondMegastore.com from February-July or until supply has run out. Glowing Clouds… (Left), Golden Horse… (right)

Glowing Clouds... (Left), Golden Horse... (right)

The first is Colorful Brodcade,  is a beautiful oriental versicolor lotus with dancing petals that swirl around a bright green center. The first day flower has petals that are cream at the base to pink on the outer edge. The flower changes to a rich creamy white and the inner petals are arrayed around the center in a particularly fancy pattern. 

Colorful Broadcade

 This is a small “exquisite bowl / teacup” lotus and should be in a very shallow container in the pond or up on your sun porch or patio. An 8-12″ round shallow container deep enough not to dry out.

Second we have Dasa Jin, A larger variety with massive creamy white flowers with a jagged picotee of purple along the outer edge of the petals. The inner petals are tipped with green. Even the bud carries a splash of purple making this a favorite new Lotus. One of the most striking pond plants held tall in the water garden or patio container, plant in a large shallow container 16″ or more across.

Dasa jin (large versicolor)

Third a wonderful heavy bloomer, Li-Ya small Chinese lotus. Enjoy many multiple blooms on this pond plant! Li-Ya Chinese Elegance is a light lotus with floating outer petals that begin to drape after the flower fully opens. Opening very light pink to white, A well named Chinese Lotus! Plant in a shallow container 12″ or more across in water gardens, pond, or patio tub. Lower to a few inches below the water surface and only fertilize after standing leaves. Hardy to zone 3. 
 All three available at http://www.PondMegastore.com in the Lotus section.

Li-Ya Lotus

Jennifer Rebecca is a very deep red nightblooming waterlily that can stay open very late each morning and will not wilt as other deep red waterlilies do in the summer heat. Ken used Trudy Slocum and red flare in multiple crosses to get this very tolerant and high performance night bloomer. If you ever want to try a red night blooming pond plant this is the one.

Night bloomers often begin blooming a couple weeks later in the summer than tropical day bloomers so give it a couple weeks to establish but the blooms will last until frost. They also tuber easily and can  be overwintered as tubers indoors!

Click the video to see the flowers and story of the Jennifer Rebecca waterlily by Ken Landon. This waterlily is for sale at Pond Megastore. 

1. Do you have the right size container?A two gallon container is pretty standard for medium water gardens but most lilies would like more space. Hardy lilies like a lot of horizontal room, consider a 12-20″ across if you don’t want to re-pot them every year, it does not need to be deep, something the size of a sturdy dishpan is great or a black colored kitty litter pan will last a couple years. A tropical waterlily can enjoy a pot 3-20 gallons in size. Lots of soil and fertilizer to boot.  Let us take a look at a few plants,

a new variety available for the first time in 2011 is Ken Landon’s ‘Rhapsody In White” (video below) Tim Davis sent me a tuber last summer after I fell in love with it at the International Waterlily Collection and is now probably my favorite star waterlily (flavovirens hybrid). It is very cold tolerant, possibly more so than some viviparous tropical waterlilies and can survive winters with ice on the pond. Chocolate pads surround a bouquet of wonderful white flowers standing high above the surface. Six blooms per day is not uncommon and plant 2 or more in a large container and you can have over a dozen flowers each morning.

Click on Video below to Play in HD

2. During the growing season waterlilies need fertilizer (and please plant them in SOIL). Though you can plant these plants in kitty litter trays don’t buy overpriced cat litter sold as aquatic plant medium (black kitty litter trays are preferable but after 2 weeks any dark color will be hidden by the pond film). Real soil, a heavy clay/topsoil or loam is perfect (potting soil is light and will float, avoid that as it is disaster).  If you add a good fertilizer like Ken Landon’s waterlily fertilizer or osmocote 180 day granulars (or both) to the soil you may not have to fertilze again all season. In the south where growing season are longer you can start with granular and add pond tabs the second half of the season if your fertilizer begins to run out.

In June 2010 I visited Nelson’s Water Garden in Texas where you can see how big lilypads and flowers actually can get when you feed them, this is Foxfire which had been growing in the pond for a couple months. Mike Swize puts his hand on a pad to show the relationship in size. Note I also grew fozfire and kept with less fertilzier in a smaller pot can keept the plant blooming just as much but stays about 1/3rd the size of this giant.

Click on Video below to Play in HD

3. Sunshine and warm weather. Waterlilies actively grow when water temps are in the mid to high 60s and like lots of direct sunlight. Full shade is not helpful for blooming even on shade tolerant plants. Planting your plants when its still early is not great either. Cold water can make tropical waterlilies go to sleep. Just because it was 82 degrees yesterday does not make it good planting weather if the bottom of your pond is 55. You want low temps to be nothing below 55 or so for 2 weeks straight before getting the plants in the pond from actively growing in waters elsewhere. You can plant dormant plants in water as cool as 45 just dont expect them to grow much until warmer weather.

Here is a look at hardy Helvola after a few week in the sun in a 20″ wide container. Each flower is only about 2″ across as this is a hardy dwarf waterlily.

Click on Video below to Play in HD

All three of the waterlilies shown are available at www.PondMegastore.com

This year I will try and use the tripod more often to better stay in focus and less shaky. Plans are to travel to 12 locations in 2011 on three different trips. Not even half of the video from 2010 has been added at this time. In HD it takes much of the day to upload just a few minutes of footage.

The 100th video we uploaded is per request from our friend Karen who wanted to see some shots of lotus growing in containers and in water gardens. The first shot is just a bee doing some work inside a lotus bud. Enjoy and we have more information coming as soon as we finish more spring preparations. Laura should soon be sending information on even more Chinese Lotus selections that will be available in February. (http://www.PondMegastore.com)

Species waterlilies are important as you cannot develop strong hybrids the further away from the species material that you have. You begin getting mutations and poor plant qualities. The IWC San Angelo as we always write about is home to the largest repository of species material in the world. Ken Landon has saved multiple species from extinction over the last few decades helping to release varieties back into the wild such as N. flavovirens in Mexico one of his personal favorites to use in crossing new hybrids.

Enjoy one of the few peeks of N. capensis var Zanzibariensis

Water Garden regulation is about to sweep the nation. Texas is finalizing the white list of approved Aquatic Plants. Soon all Taro (over 100 types of Elephant ears), Papyrus, Cattails, Creeping Jenny, and a number of other long time favorites of water gardens will be outlawed in Texas with fines of $2000 per incident.

New York, Maryland, and other states are already voicing that they intend to copy this new law prohibiting 100s of Aquatic Plants and destroying business. Why? Much of this has to do with boating. Hydrilla which travels from lake to lake on the bottom of unwashed boats is overtaking waterways. Giant salvinia can also travel like this. Both plants were restricted in Texas (a black list) which is fine. However the legislation passed in 2009 now states only studied and approved plants should be sold to the state. That leaves a very short list of plants to be sold. 

As this legislation comes to more and more states the water garden industry will shrink considerably. Also the aquarium trade will be hit as the list does not include 43 aquarium plants common within that trade.

Normally Texas is a pro-business state but this really puts a dent in that thinking. Again this legislation is being copied right now in at least 3 states that we know of and as most laws will continue spreading.

This will hurt both aquarium hobbyists, pet industry jobs, water garden installers, aquatic plant growers and customers and pond societies. Complaints have come in from Canada as to concerns that they will not be able to order plants from Texas in the future due to this regulation.

See two news articles below with comments from our friends Tim Davis, Brandon McLane, and Rolf Nelson.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/01/15/2771870/texas-plan-to-combat-invasive.html

http://www.petproductnews.com/headlines/2011/01/12/texas-updates-white-list-of-aquatic-plants.aspx

The viviparous leaves (lilypads) develop new plantlets on many pads as they age. The roots and leaves can be easily seen where the stem and leaf come together as displayed in the HD video below.

visit Pond Megastore Pond Plants and Waterlily Nursery to Purchase online.

Pond Megastore and Champion Bay Aquatics will be adding Tanzanite and about 8 other waterlilies to a list close to 200 other water lilies this spring which are shipped wholesale grown / blooming size to Garden Centers and Landscapers all over the United States. 

Tanzanite was voted as the Best New Waterlily overall in 2009 and this is the first year of production. Developed by the McLane family at Florida Aquatic Nurseries in Florida they have worked quickly to build up supply and should have a good quantity at the beginning of the 2011 season. Tanzanite waterlily is the deepest purple on the market, very similar to the depth of  ’N. capensis var zanzibariensis forma purpurea’ in my opinion. 

Waterlily "Tanzanite" brand new, deep purple like no other on the market

This lily has slightly lower petal count than last years blockbuster hit “Ultra Violet“ which  I feel is still a superior waterlily though this is a close second in the purple waterlily category. From my two weeks this summer in San Angelo Texas (June & September) I did not notice the slight color change from day to day that Ultra Violet did seem to have. On hot sunny days I noticed Ultra Violet sometimes seemed to become almost a dark blue by the second or third day of full sun. If conditions were not completely sunny the flowers stayed purple all 3 days of each blossom. 

Ultra Violethas about 70 petals on adult flowers and Tanzanite about 50. The larger the plant the more petals so fertilizer and pot size is key to performance. The pads on the Ultra Violet changefrom red/green camouflage pattern to an almost full red during the summer which is a second benefit for a pond plant like no other. 

 Contact either customerservice@pondmegastore.com or info@championbayaquatics.com for prices lists and minimum order requirements. “Tanzanite“ is also now available direct to home purchase in the Annual Waterlilies listed on www.PondMegastore.com .

Below that I will post again the video with Tim Davis which has footage of the larger plants taken in September 2010 shortly prior to the Symposium and LilyFest. Ken’s video up first was taken in June 2010.

This makes interstate sales of plants more and more difficult. Most US growers of aquatics are quite responsible. There are a few who sell invasive species to states that have banned certain plants. There are also growers that are selling non-inspected plants and waterlilies from the asian-pacific region that may be bringing in pathogens, viral or fungal, as well as other pests attached to the plants. It is good to know exactly where your plants came from or are being grown. Many good honest growers can let you know where the plants are grown.

Shipping aquatic plants in soil to California should only be done with companies certified nematode free per law. Companies selling water hyacinths as “Blue Shellflower” are breaking the law sending the plants to CA, AZ, NM, AR, ID, TX, LA, SC, MS, the City of Chicago and should be reported to the USDA or state Agriculture Leader. If this practice can be stopped we can stop bans on all aquatics such as the proposed White List in Texas and now possibly NY and MD.

This week Los Angeles inspectors discovered a khapra beetle in dry rice (food) which is one of the 10 most dangerous non-established pests in the United States. Not a problem for aquatic garden industry person however we are are risk of introducing similar product when shipping in overseas and can quickly spread state to state before its ever noticed.

Most growers are honest and most inventory in US grown however it is always best to check especially when ordering online.

Some safe retail sellers include:

Online: PondMegastore.com, MarylandAquatics.com

Texas: Nelson’s Water Gardens

New York: Bergen Water Gardens

Virginia: Springdale Watergardens

Utah: Desert Water Gardens

Washington: Hughes Water Gardens

Canada: Burns Water Gardens

more can be found on the IWGS and WGI websites.  The IWGS website also lists all BANNED varieties/species by state updated often by Kelly Billing who keeps track for the industry.