Tubers or plants?

[matherfish]

When you order water lilies to be shipped, which do you prefer, tubers or plants?
 Here are pros and cons of each. Plants are most often shipped, but the plant suffers some transplant shock when shipped and sets the plant back somewhat. It is more expensive to ship, plus because of the amount of room it takes to grow it out, it is more expensive to buy. However, if it is blooming, you can see the color of the bloom, and if budding you may have blooms a few weeks faster.
 On the other hand, sprouted tubers will grow quickly when the water and air temps are warm enough. If you order early, you can hold onto the tuber and store it until the weather is cooperating for planting. If it were a grown plant you would have to find a warm place with enough light to keep it until the pond is ready for it. A tuber can be shipped cheaper because of it's size, and you do not have transplant shock. It will grow quickly when weather is right.
 What has been your experience? Your thoughts?

[Bob_A]

I bought two tropicals from you last year. For some reason I was delaying planting them in a container in the pond.  I had them under a Metal Halide lamp and they were starting to look kind of bad.    So I temporarily planted them under some rock and gravel in the pond.  Unfortunately, my koi got to them and dug them up, never to be seen again.  So I would say that I need the biggest plants possible.

[redberry]

I have only received plants from Kat...usually I have waited until the weather seems to have settled down enough to get good growth from the tropicals.  We have a fairly short growing season as far as tropicals are concerned.  However, I have successfully overwintered tubers though it is a bit of work to get them going in the spring.  I get them started inside and then end up keeping them in an unheated greenhouse in buckets during the day once it warms up enough.  I end up transplanting them from smaller pots into larger pots once they get too large for my "bucket ponds" and the weather seems warm enough.  That is a long-winded way of saying that if the timing is right and I wanted a new plant, I might consider a tuber.

redberry

[Pam]

A tuber if it was purchased from a trustworthy vendor like the sellers here.

[matherfish]

Thanks, Pam. I know mistakes can be made whether it be plants or tubers, but most sellers here dotry to be accurate, and if a mistake is made, they do try and correct it.