Overwintering tropical lily ideas....

13 years ago

I just purchased a tropical lily at ou local pond store that looks quite healthy for $25 (couldn't pass it up). I was talking to the guy we have become "friends" with since building our pond this spring about how to try and overwinter it. He said that if we put it in a kiddie pool and keep the water above 50 degrees in the basement we should be fine. I already have a 100 gallon preformed pond and plan on purchasing a small heater. Has anyone had sucess with this method? I have 2 tropicals and a hardy lily. When I bought the tropical I new it was short lived, but wouldn't mind experimenting with getting them to overwinter. I would love to hear both your sucesses and failures.

(Hopefully) I am attaching a photo of my new Albert Greenberg tropical lily.

Oh, by the way, I am in central Ohio zone 5.

Thanks, Melissa

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae326/mbhoneybee63/Water%20lilies%20and%20pond%20plants/2ndmalebsthatch-release-albertgreen083.jpg

Comments (6)

pondmaninal
13 years ago
Hiya Melissa,
This is my first year to have to over-winter trops in zone 7b. Last year, all I did was leave them in the pond as I lived in Florida in zone 9a. The way that you plant to do it is fine for one but I have like two dozen and I'm going to use the method of collecting the corms in the Fall. Oh, blues and purples are more cold tolerant than the other colors and come back in the Spring here if they are left in pond through Winter.
rsingley
13 years ago
Both my mother and I tried several times by moving the tropical lily to a large "hole-less" pot of water and keeping it in a bright sun room but never had luck. I don't know if it was a lack of water movement, depth, temperature(which I doubt), lack of light, etc.

Good luck. I'd like to know how you make out.
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horton
13 years ago
Honeybee, check the link below.
It is a well written explanation about over wintering tropical lilies.
Another write up can be found on Robyn's Pond site which is much the same as the one I linked to here.
"Horton"

Here is a link that might be useful: Over wintering tropical lilies.
mbhoneybee63
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the info all..

Horton, I found the link quite informative. I have two trops, so I may take a crack at both methods to find out which one works best for me.
lefd05
13 years ago
I store they 3 I have in bags of damp sand placed in an old cooler in the basement. Its worked for the last two years.
I'm zone 6 and it is a struggle to overwinter them. The bigger problem for me though is the growing season isn't long enough for them to get going. By the time the water reaches a temp that they can safely be put back out it takes forever for them to start growing and putting out pads. Sometimes they will immediately rot. I really find them to be more trouble than they are worth. I prefer to stick with the hardies, they can stay in the pond during the winter.
troy_l
13 years ago
It's the middle of Oct. and I just split my hardy lilies and I am curious as to if you can do this same thing with hardy lilies or does it only work with tropicals? My main tuber (Big around as a basketball) gave me rougly 18 smaller tubers. Now i need to know if i have to repot them and put back in the pond or is it ok to let them dry out a bit and treat them like they are tropicals and let them rest in the warmer temps in a dark room. Any suggestions would be great.

Troy