Question about how lilies grow

[Julles]

I divided and repotted my lilies this evening.  I was sort of surprised to see that none of them really had root systems that went down into the pot of soil.  Some of the purple one (unnamed) had tubers on top of the dirt, but others had just a small bulb or corm type thing with a few leaves sprouting from it. 

My night bloomer did well last year, with tons of large pads.  I assumed it would have had a large root mass under the soil.  But there were only some very small starts coming from things that looked like miniature (1/2") tulip bulbs. 

In digging through the old soil, I found green stuff that was obviously the remains of fertilizer tabs I had inserted during the growing season.

So the question is, do water lilies put roots down into the pot & soil?  or not?  If not, how the heck do they live?  And if not, what is the purpose of pushing fertilizer tabs way into the pot?  Or do the roots decompose over the winter, and redevelop all over again when it warms up?

thanks

[Rad Michelle]

they have a tendancy to die back in the winder, i usually find the old roots running along to bottom edge of pot in circles around it. pushing fertilizer down helps reach the roots as they grow down and run along the bottom of the pot.

the small tulip bulbs with starts on your night bloomer are it's tubers, so you could actually pot each little tuber and grow each plant out, or trade/sell on the exchanfe board. i really liked to lay them on their side and let the plant root into the growing media away from the tuber.

the tubers on top of the dirt from the other plant may have just come from sprouted runners? or sometimes they grow out from the main crown and begin their own plant, but usually not too far from the main plant

[Julles]

Thanks, Michelle.

[Mike S.]

Tropical waterlilies tend to put their primary "feeder" roots very shallow. The larger, thicker roots that they will put down deeper are what I'd call "anchor roots. But when we limit their growth area by putting them in pots, you will eventually find roots filling the entire pots.

Many of the fertilizers used will never completely dissolve, as the actual nutrients are coating the surface of a carrier material. Others may have a coating on the nutrients that will dissolve at different rates, depending upon time or water temp. A good deal of what may look like unused fertilizer in a pot has actually done it's job and what remains is inert.

A manufacture's rep. explained to me that the fertilizer you place in the pot will tend to rise towards the surface. You put it down deep, to avoid too much getting to the feeder roots at once, "burning" the plant.

Tropicals will  often produce those corms you mentioned as a method of reproduction. As far as I know, there's only one waterlily that actually reproduces by sending out "runners," and that would be N. Mexicana, a hardy waterlily.

Just some of my opinions, and I have been wrong before!   

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL