Pygmaea Helvola

[Cedric]

Pygmaea Helvola, Latour-Marliac, pygmaea X mexicana. Anyone try this one, and is it hardy or not, some references have it as not altogether hardy. I saw it growing for the first time and was absolutely enchanted, it was thriving, in South East Asia in very hot weather. The flowers were tiny little bright yellow waxy cups of perfect shape. I can kick myself that I never brought one home. For this one a water garden a foot across is just fine.

[Sunbeam56]

Very cute. There's been some discussion about indoor gardening - does this need direct light?

[Cedric]

I assume so, but I don't know. I saw it in full sun in 96% doing rather well, that's not to say it wont take diffuse light.

[happyoutsidegirl]

That is so sweet and now I want one. Don't know that it would winter here but it's so small it wouldn't be to much trouble to winter it the house.

[Lori]

Cedric,
I have grown Helvolas for years and they are very reliable- I've never lost one in zone 4-5 winters.  It begins to bloom around noon and stays open  all afternoon.  A well-established plant makes a lush display of leaves and has multiple blooms open every day.  I like the mottled leaf pattern, too.  It has a pineapple root and stays put in the middle of the pot better than other types. It's a keeper.

[Cedric]

Lori I am truly impressed with this little gem. Im in the sub-tropics- wet tropics so it wont have much of a rest but I think its one of those things that takes up such little space you can pop it anywhere to rest or grow. Thanks for that, I thought maybe it was a bit tricky given its extraordinary size. Im going to get one next time.

I read too that it saves up all its little buds if there is cold spell then pop they all open at once first sign of warmth, making a stunning little galaxi of blooms.

[Joyce]

My helvola is very hardy, and blooms like crazy all the time IN FULL SUN. 

[LeeAnne151]

I didn't have much luck with Helvola in partial shade, only in full sun has it done well for me.

Never had a problem in winter not that it gets terribly cold here, just raccoons ripping it out of pots and the bottom of the pond.

[Kat]

Mine is in partial shade--morning sun up until about 2 pm.  Blooms open mid day & close late compared to other hardies.  I've finally got a colony of them & getting about 10 blooms daily.  It is definitely a keeper.

[happyoutsidegirl]

Kat or anyone! Will you have some for sale? If so please put me on the list.

[Lynda]

I have a Helvola in a large pot on my deck in full sun, and it does wonderfully - blooms from mid-spring until late fall.  I'm in Zone 7a, and it comes back like clockwork every spring sending up leaves quite early in the season; even after this past winter when it froze pretty darn solid.  I adore this little lily...   

[Cedric]

It charmed the pants off me I can tell you. The flowers were tiny in the tropics couple of cm max. There is another in a very hot flashy red/pink/purple,  definitely tropical, slightly elongated blooms on lng stalks, just cannot remember its name. Will ask. Nice to hear so many favourable responses, its just has to be a good'n.

[tranquility]

Helvola is one of my favorites...but, to me it seems like I have alot of trouble keeping the algae away from it...and even the goldies will eat mine so it has to stay in a tub with mosquito fish......
Lawanna

[karen J]

Helvola is one of my favorites. It overwinters fine here in zone 5. If you're in the tropics, perhaps you can put it in the refrigerator from Nov to March?

I also grow N. pygmaea & N. mexicana. The pygmaea does fine over the winter and has the most charming white flowers. The Mexicana doesn't do very well over winter (not quite hardy here), but it may be too weedy for the tropics. Doesn't bloom very well for me.

[Cedric]

Thats a good point Tranquility that it can get swamped by algae, so I think the trick would be to grow it in a well established pond/container that has aged and crystal clear water full of submerged plants, that has reached a good balance. Just one or two tiny male fish for mosquitoes. You don't want high waste matter from feeding fish and a population explosion.

Karen yes N mexicana is not my favourite either. It throws up rhizomes and shoots all over the place very quickly, filling up any container with leaves shoots and crowns and very little flower, requiring high maintenance to keep it doing anything half decent. Weed is the word. Last year I left it alone and got exactly one flower and hundreds of crowns. Onto the compost it went. Thankfully helvola has not inherited any of that by the sounds of things and from what I've seen.