Texas Dawn Hardy Waterlily (Nymphaea ‘Texas Dawn’)

Description

Everything’s bigger in Texas – including this beautiful yellow lily.

Texas Dawn shows off its bright blooms with gusto all summer long, often producing clusters of flowers that fill the pond with a yellow glow. These flowers span an impressive 6 to 10 inches across and can rise up to 10 inches above the water’s surface. Like a dawn sky, the petals will sometimes display hints of pink.

Texas Dawn has received all kinds of accolades since its creation in 1985, including designation as the official state waterlily of Texas.

PLACEMENT

Waterlilies thrive placed in full sun and submerged in anywhere from 8 to 30 inches of water. Put your potted lily directly into the pond, or remove it from the pot and plant it in a designated pocket. Don’t worry if the lilies’ leaves are completely submerged; any new growth will find its way to the surface.

IN-SEASON CARE

For maximum blooms, fertilize your lilies about once per month from May until September. (If you bought your lily from Splash, you can wait until one month after your purchase to fertilize your plant for the first time).

Each flower on a waterlily will repeat its bloom cycle – opening in the morning and closing in the afternoon – for three to five days before dying. You’ll know a bloom has run its course when it sinks under the water, at which point you can prune it. With plenty of sunlight and fertilizer, most lilies will produce tons of new flowers from May until October in southcentral Pennsylvania (Zone 6).

WINTER CARE

Trim off the lily’s leaves as they start to die off for the season, eventually pruning the whole plant down to its base. Some people like to “sink” their waterlilies in the deepest part of the pond in the winter, but we have found that most hardy waterlilies manage just fine without being moved.

DIVIDING

Waterlilies produce fewer leaves and flowers when overcrowded. To get the most out of your plant, divide it every couple years.

OVERVIEW: TEXAS DAWN HARDY WATERLILY (NYMPHAEA ‘TEXAS DAWN’)