Biggest lily pad?

[Kat]

OK--this is the first year I've used Osmocote with Colorburst mixed in & I must say some of my lily pads are the biggest I've ever seen.  Green Smoke lily pad is over 13" long!  My Caliente last year had a little bit bigger pads but I know that lily grew extra large.  Makes me wonder how big it really would be if I gave it Osmocote/Colorburst & a bigger pot    My hardy lily pads also appear to be larger but I don't pay as much attention to them as compared to my tropicals. 

So measure up your lily pads & let's see what sizes y'all have 

[Timgod]

I am growing out full size one of my unnamed lavender lilies to see what it will do.
It had pads of about 15 inches across. Unfortunately I had a pump leak oil in the koi pond Sunday and had to cut all but the pads that were still below the water ready to unfurl.
Last year I had ampla and Caliente get pads of about 14" but as you said they like to grow big... Texas Style.
One of my foxfire's is throwing pads of about 12" now as well and it is not in a large container.
I am wondering if there is some ampla in it's genetic line.

Tim

[Bonnie]

Kat did you just use one or the other before?

I really like Osmocote.. plus it's cheaper than any other temp released fertilizer that I can find.

[Desertponder]

My unknown white is the only lily I have with big pads. Some of its first pads of the year were probably about 10 inches across.
I tried Osmocote this year too but I don't think it really did much for my lilies. Maybe I didn't use enough. My lilies were all just sitting there doing nothing so I gave them all a tomato spike and they took of growing and blooming.

[Kat]

I've always used Aquatic spikes/tabs before but since they've gotten so expensive I thought I'd try the Osmocote.  Then I read that someone else used Colorburst successfully.  So I've been shaking out enough to cover the bottom of the pot about 1/2 way & adding a large pinch of the Colorburst. 

Sorry to hear about your pump leaking Tim.  Hopefully your lily will recover quickly.

Maybe the roots of your hardies hadn't gotten to the Osmocote yet?  If I think one of my lilies is not growing like it should, I'll poke a hole in the soil & pour in a little bit of the Osmocote near the roots.  Sounds like your white has huge pads.

[Desertponder]

Sounds like I didn't use enough of it.  I only put about 1 tablespoon in the bottom of the oil pan.

[Bonnie]

Sandy (kntry) told me about Colorburst, about 4? yrs ago now... Sean also uses it so I've been using it since then and Osmocote occasionally if I find it on sale.  I've been very happy with the results using Colorburst only.


These are Temperature released so the first month you might want to add a fertilizer tab along with them due to the water temps not being warm enough.

[miguynmkoi]

I've always used Aquatic spikes/tabs before but since they've gotten so expensive I thought I'd try the Osmocote.  Then I read that someone else used Colorburst successfully.  So I've been shaking out enough to cover the bottom of the pot about 1/2 way & adding a large pinch of the Colorburst. 

How much fertilizer is "half way"?

[Bonnie]

Kat is using enough to cover half of the bottom of the pot/container, I believe.

That's similar to the amount that I use which normally is about 1/2-3/4 cup for a dishpan.  I don't measure, just dump ... just a single layer on the bottom of the pot.

If you are wanting to add to a lily or plant already potted..
move rocks to the side, make a hole using a screwdriver top, etc and pour in Colorburst add a handful or two of new soil/media and top with rocks.
Or you can put it in a kneehigh......

[miguynmkoi]

  Thanks Bonnie!  Had to make sure, 1/2 a pot seemed a little bit 

Thanks to everyone for adding to my lily addiction 

[GAjen]

My Leopardness has one 12 inches. I just "deadheaded" the Albert Greenberg pads they were good size to.

[jclements]

Here's me with an enormous Foxfire pad a few years ago. I don't have an exact measurement, but it was bigger than my face(and hair!! ).

[Kat]

Yep, about 1/2 the bottom of the container single layer is what I do & then cover with dirt.

Jessica--that is a cool photo!

[Jonna]

What fun, floating a ruler on lily pads in the pond    Of course, the biggest pad was in the center and I almost lost the ruler.

The ruler is 18" so this pad from Afterglow is 13+".  Plus, if you look below it you can see how big the caudal flash is on some of the Wakin.



11" on what should be Silver Mist - that finally has a bud up!!



and another Afterglow, 14" !!



I planted them in compost with Osmacote to cover the bottom of the oil pan.  They are deep though, over 3', and only get afternoon sun.