H X T 1,08 really is an amazing plant because those pics were taken a little more than a week ago and H X T 1,08 and a few other H X Ts were the only color in all of my ponds among hundreds of varieties both hardy and tropical.
ALL of the other lilies have looked typical for October with no color and flowers that won't open. But with the H X Ts that continue to bloom the flowers are WIDE open and the color just gets stronger and stronger as the water gets colder.
If I would have floated a small plastic cover over H X T 1,08s flower the other day that frozen flower would be wide open and held above the water for at least 10 days and I just had Ice on the cold end of the pond for the last 4 days. The leaves have stopped growing a month ago but the buds have kept growing and coming to the surface very slowly with full size full blown full color flowers that stay open 24 hours a day for up to 8 days so far. Longer and longer as the water cools into the 40s.
This plant is still just a teenager and was just coming into full expression when cold weather and short days put the brakes on rhizome growth. I have no idea how big it will get next summer but it's dimensions as of now are around an 8 in flower held about 8 in. above the water with 10 X 8 in leaves and around 5 ft spread. The leaves are dark red and marbled showing a lot of water. The flowers are produced and open in an ordered clockwise fashion. Just like the hands of a clock ! The rhizome is fat and very slow growing with no apparent tendency to grow horizontally or VERY little. It flowers continually with no letup with up to 3 flowers per crown and I think it has a higher flower area to leaf area ratio and makes more flowers per year, per crown than any non H X T lily I know of. I predict that it can go years without repotting. Its scent is predominantly tropical with a slight hardy sweetness. Bees do not visit it. AT ALL. None of my H X Ts attract bees, neither nectar or pollen ! Pretty weird huh ? I am so glad of this because the bees around here destroy all anthers by the end of the second day and it ruins the flowers. But my H X Ts always look perfect ! These H X T plants are truly the best of both worlds in one package, with some added extra good qualities thrown in. You might think, just another pretty pink. But you would be wrong. If I can manage to get this plant to multiply then we should all be very happy because anyone who likes pink lilies would love this plant. If for no other reason than it extends the season another month with full blown flowers. There hasn’t been a hardy pink flower here for around 2 months, so it extends the season for hardy pinks by 2 months ! Nothing non H X T holds a candle to it.
Wait a minute it does have one flaw and it is a major one for southerners and it is that it burns in temps above the mid 90s especially if the sky is clear blue. Not so much if it’s hazy, then it burns around 100. Other than that and the fact that it doesn’t reproduce it’s the perfect water garden lily. Don’t worry I have tons more.
Sorry for blowing my own horn so loudly, especially about a plant that you may never get to own but it’s not self love I’m expressing it’s my love of this plant ! And it’s not even blue or purple ! Just wait till I start crowing about those ! Sorry again but I just love lilies so MUCH !
