Is there a difference between water lilies and lily pads?
Water lilies are plants that grow in still or slowly moving water. They like ponds, streams, and the edges of lakes in tropical and mild areas. Their floating leaves are often called lily pads.
The water lily petal is pointed and creates a star-like bloom; the lotus petal is more rounded, sometimes ruffly. Lily flowers last longer, up to two weeks, then wilt and fall beneath the water; the lotus has a significant seed pod that continues to grow above the water after the inflorescence has passed.
If it were like an ordinary leaf, it would have the majority of its stomata in the lower epidermis, pressed against the water's surface – they would be unable to absorb any carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This arrangement – having all the stomata in the upper epidermis – permits the leaves to absorb carbon dioxide.
As the water lily grows throughout the season, its lily pads spread out across the surface of the pond to provide protection for the fish while shading and cooling the water. Flowers open during the day, then close up in the evening, and each bloom lives for three or four days before fading away.
Common names: Lily pad; fragrant water lily. Location: Grows rooted in mucky or silty bottoms up to 5 feet deep.
Also known as the Chinese money plant, this sought-after houseplant has eye-catching round, lily-pad like leaves and a mounded shape. Pilea peperomiodes likes a bright spot, out of direct sunshine.
The entire lily plant is toxic: the stem, leaves, flowers, pollen, and even the water in a vase. Eating just a small amount of a leaf or flower petal, licking a few pollen grains off its fur while grooming, or drinking the water from the vase can cause your cat to develop fatal kidney failure in less than 3 days.
They do not grow from bulbs and they are in a different plant genus. Water lilies aren't lilies at all, and neither are lily-of-the-valley.
The water lily gets its name from the flower, called the lily. Although it doesn't resemble standard terrestrial lilies, it's often fragrant and eye-catching while it lasts. The blooms tend to have a large number of petals, typically 25 petals or more per flower.
How do I identify a water lily?
Identification (see below for more photos)
Leaves float on the water's surface and are nearly circular in shape. They are notched to the center and the leaf lobes are pointed. The leaves are on the tops of long stalks that extend from long rhizomes in the mud. Fragrant water lily flowers are showy, white and aromatic.
A hushed green reminiscent of Monet's blurry watercolor depictions of Giverny. LRV, or Light Reflectance Value, is a measurement commonly used by design professionals—such as architects and interior designers—that expresses the percentage of light reflected from a surface.
Benefits of Lily Pads
Not only do lily pads look cool, they also help protect the critters that live in your pond. During the heat of the summer, the leaves of the lily pad stretch out in your pond, providing much-needed shade. That shade helps keep your pond cooler, which makes your koi fish very happy.
How long do water lilies live? Given the right conditions, water lilies are very long-lived perennials, even when grown indoors. There are many instances of water lilies living 15 or 20 years, or even more.
But water lilies actually grow in a rainbow of colors, including pink, red, orange, yellow, purple, and blue. Tropical varieties take on jewel tones (purple, orange, bright blue, and yellow), whereas hardier varieties lean toward a pastel palette.
Koi, goldfish, and grass carp are all known to eat the leaves and occasionally the roots of water lilies. Of these, grass carp are considered the most effective at controlling lily pad populations.
Water lilies can be submerged 6-18 inches deep.
Deer, beaver, muskrat, nutria and other rodents will consume the leaves and rhizomes of white water lily; while the seeds are eaten by ducks.
It's considered a misdemeanor to pick wildflowers in California, New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Colorado and you could be fined.
Water Lilies Help Their Environment
Because they rest on the water's surface, the flowers and pads provide shade, keeping the water cooler and preventing algae that thrive in heat from growing in excess. Water lilies also shelter fish from predatory birds and the heat of the sun.
Do water lilies come back every year?
These are perennial plants, meaning that as long as the rhizome – the underground stem that sends out roots and shoots – does not freeze, the plant will survive through the winter and bloom again in spring.
The ditch lily is a perennial plant known for its captivating lily-like blooms. Its natural habitats are meadows and forests, but it is also a common garden plant in temperate regions around the world.
A lily pad is a big leaf. Lily pads grow in water. They grow in ponds.
Monet loved these summer flowers, and you will too. Water lilies, plants in the genus Nymphaea, are aquatic blooms that grow in ponds and water gardens. Their green lily pads spread out across the surfaces of freshwater environs and, when warm weather arrives each year, their blooms have spiky, brightly colored petals.
The giant water lily delights all who see it with its beauty and size. Giant water lilies not only have flowers that smell like pineapple and butterscotch, but they can also hold the weight of a small child! This plant is native to South America.
They have large leaves which are known as lily pads. Water Lily fruit are also referred to as Lotus Flower fruit, although the lotus itself belongs to a different species. Water Lily fruit develop from the flower of the plant, which is also edible. After the flower is pollinated, it retracts underwater, and closes.
If we don't fight them, the leaves would be cut off while they are still small. There would be many tiny holes in the leaves, rendering them unable to grow. ' Visitors have described sitting on the huge leaves as the same as being on a boat that's floating away.
The plant, called Nymphaea thermarum in Latin, isn't just tiny; it is also one of the rarest plants in the world. Nymphaea thermarum is the world's smallest water lily yet described, with the leaves measuring only one centimetre in diameter.
China Mark Moth
Look for large, neat holes on the edge of your waterlily leaves. The caterpillar will cut holes in the leaves on the edges or centrally where the stem joins the leaf. These pieces will be placed on the underside of the leaf to cover the pupa. Each develops under its own patch of bitten off leaf.
The Yellow water-lily has oval, leathery, floating leaves. It has yellow, cupped flowers that are borne on stalks just above the water. The White water-lily has rounder leaves and a larger, whiter flower.
Why can't you pull lily pads?
Firstly, it can be really time-consuming and difficult to hand-pull water lily pads from a body of water. Additionally, it's very difficult to ensure you've removed a water lily's entire root system, and if you haven't, the lily will simply regrow. As such, we only recommend hand-pulling as a temporary control measure.
Tiny, oval white eggs, glued separately to the leaf, belong to the whirligig beetle, the flattened oval insects who circle round and round on the surface of still waters.
The genus Nymphaea makes up the water lilies proper, or water nymphs, with 46 species. The common North American white water lily, or pond lily, is Nymphaea odorata.
The fragrant water lily is the most common white water lily. Unlike most dry land plants that have their stomata on the underside of leaves, the fragrant water lily has its stomata on the upper side of its leaves. The fleshy rhizomes of this plant are a common food source for muskrats.
On top of the general symbols and meanings of this July birth flower, water lilies have additional meanings that associate with their vibrant colours: White water lilies symbolise purity and mental purity. Purple water lilies symbolise power. Red water lilies symbolise pure love and romance.
Although water lilies are not self-pollinating, each fragrant water lily flower has both male and female parts for seed production.
As the pads sprout and grow from beneath the surface they are red from lack of chlorophyll. If the pad makes it to the surface and insects don't completely gobble them up, the plants go to the energy expense of pushing out their chlorophyll into the pads, which turns them green.
Is your water lily turning red? Sometimes, chilly temperatures can cause red leaves on water lilies. If this is the case, the leaves will fade back to green when the weather warms up. Water lily species vary in color and some have a natural purplish or dark red pigmentation.
Chemical Control
Aquatic herbicides are very successful in treating lily pads. Products such as Shore-Klear or Reward and Weedtrine D, when mixed with a nonionic surfactant such as Cygnet Plus work very well at killing Lily Pads and assisting in gaining control over them.
However, thriving plants can also overcrowd your pond and even become dangerous for the wildlife that calls your pond home. Overgrown water lilies, for example, can begin to cover too much of your pond's surface area which can prevent oxygenation and actually suffocate your fish!
Can you have too many lily pads in a lake?
Water lily leaves keep light from the water and this helps to control algae, but if they cover too much of your pond's surface area they can actually prevent oxygenation. This can “suffocate” your fish and other plants.
Prune your water lily to remove any dead leaves or flowers as they appear. If left unmanaged, this dead foliage can cause increased algae growth within your pond. Algae feeds on excess nutrients left in a pond, so scooping out extra pieces of debris can help keep algae to a minimum.
| Flowering season(s) | Summer, Autumn |
|---|---|
| Soil moisture | Poorly drained |
| Ultimate height | 10-15cm (4-6in) |
| Ultimate spread | Up to 2.4m (8ft) depending on variety |
| Time to ultimate height | 5-6 months |
Each flower on a waterlily will repeat its bloom cycle for three to five days before dying and sinking into the water. With plenty of sunlight and fertilizer, most lilies will produce tons of new flowers throughout the season from May until October in southcentral Pennsylvania (Zone 6).
Most water lilies typically need a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight in order to produce their spectacular blooms. However, some will flower in part shade with between 4-6 hours of sunlight daily. None grow in deep shade with less than 3 hours of sunlight each day.
If lilies become too crowded their leaves will stick up above the surface of the pond rather than lying flat on the surface. This makes them much more vulnerable to pests and will inhibit their flowering. They should be lifted and split to thin them out or potted up into a larger basket.
Nymphaea 'Purple Joy' (Water Lily) is a day-blooming aquatic perennial boasting brilliant green viviparous leaves. Floating on the surface of the water, they create a lovely backdrop for the spectacular flowers, 4-5 in. across (10-12 cm).
Native lilies do provide beneficial food and habitat for a variety of wildlife species and removing them altogether could damage your fish population, while invasives should be eradicated completely. Koi, goldfish, and grass carp are all known to eat the leaves and occasionally the roots of water lilies.
Benefits of Lily Pads
Not only do lily pads look cool, they also help protect the critters that live in your pond. During the heat of the summer, the leaves of the lily pad stretch out in your pond, providing much-needed shade. That shade helps keep your pond cooler, which makes your koi fish very happy.
If you want to have plants in your tank or pond, Lily pads are an excellent choice. They are a great source of shade for your pond. Shade is useful because it helps keep the pond temperatures cooler and more comfortable for your fish. They also spread out and multiply very well.
What kills lily pads in a pond?
Chemical Control
Aquatic herbicides are very successful in treating lily pads. Products such as Shore-Klear or Reward and Weedtrine D, when mixed with a nonionic surfactant such as Cygnet Plus work very well at killing Lily Pads and assisting in gaining control over them.
Unfortunately, lily pads can also cause some problems in ponds. First, they can quickly spread and take over the entire pond if left unchecked. Second, their large leaves can block sunlight from reaching the bottom of the pond, making it difficult for plants and other aquatic creatures to thrive.
Water lilies can be submerged 6-18 inches deep. It is best to lower the container gradually in the water as the water lily begins to grow, something easily accomplished by raising the container on bricks and gradually removing the bricks over time. Be aware that initial depth can influence growth, however.
Waterlilies release oxygen through their roots into the pond's soil. Submerged plants, aka oxygenators, float just below the surface and usually only their flowers emerge above the water. They also help to keep the water clear of algae and provide wildlife with shelter.
Deer, beaver, muskrat, nutria and other rodents will consume the leaves and rhizomes of white water lily; while the seeds are eaten by ducks.
Flipping or even punching mats of hyacinth or hydrilla that are caught up in lily pads is one of my favorite ways to catch fish. Typically there will only be a few mats like this and that will turn a vast lily pad field into a small set of targets.
Place the hardy waterlily rhizome at a slight angle (about 45-degrees) with the cut end deeper in the soil and placed at the edge of pot, with the growing tip projecting 3/4” above the surface of the soil. Waterlilies have voracious appetites and will perform best if well fed so be sure to fertilize them.
