Water Lilies in Bloom in January at -25C!

[GarryT]

Of course they are indoors along with the GF ....snug in their basement winter quarters. I know they are just "hardies" but I was surprised to see the amount of growth given the limited light (2 - 4' T8 flourescents) and lower (65F) water temperature. Sure makes the long, cold winter a bit more bearable but still itching to get the pond up and going in spring which unfortunately is still too many months away.

[Desertponder]

Wow!!! Look at that!! I'm jealous.
I wish I had the place to do an indoor setup like that.

[miguynmkoi]

Wow is right!  Thanks for sharing a photo of your indoor setup!  It looks great and obviously the lilies and water lettuce love it.  Nice to see you keep your lucky fishies in it too!  My poor fishies get to stay outside and suffer the constant swing of temperature. 

[Sean]

Looks great!
I used to do the same, now I just start seedlings indoors, it is fun though.

Cheers,
Sean

[CoolShades]

The Hardies definetely will bloom at 60F water temperature, especially the reds, but I have never seen anyone bring in the hardies for an inside pond...coolbeans!

Gary

[bunny56lbc]

It must be NICE.....
I'm am SO Jealous !

bonnie

[Vickie]

Garry what fun. And it takes the winter blahs away to. What a nice thing you have done and what lucky fish.

[GarryT]

Sean's tutorial on building a display pond was my inspiration for the my overwintering setup. Never satisfied with the simple solution (I'm an engineer), I passed on the obvious plastic storage containers for the fish in favour of the solution you see pictured. It can all be easily disassembled and stored away when not needed. Also a convenient excuse to go play with powertools in the garage.

One thing I'm not sure of is if the lilies actually require a "rest" period before plopping into the pond in the months ahead? Can the root be divided while they are still in the growth stage? For sure they will be going back into the pond under much cooler conditions than what they are currently under indoors, I suspect spring time pond water temperatures in the high 40F to low 50F range when it's started up. It's my first time around doing this stuff so lot's of learning required!

[miguynmkoi]

Never satisfied with the simple solution (I'm an engineer), I passed on the obvious plastic storage containers for the fish in favour of the solution you see pictured.

I knew it!  If my Hubby were into lilies like I am I'm sure he would do exactly what you did (if he could use power tools like you obviously do)!  Yeah he's an engineer too, "calculate this".  You built a very attractive display case for your lucky plants and fish.  Perhaps you can show us how you made yours....

[SueSTx]

  @O@What a nice way to cure the winter blahs.  I just love the fantails.

I divide my lilies with buds on them...just be careful to not break anything off.

What are the dimensions of that box?  I've been wanting one for the deck to raise tropicals.   

[barb]

How pretty!   

[GarryT]

The box is approximately 4' long, 2'  wide by 16" deep. The dimensions were chosen to make best use of 4' x 8' sheets of material and 8' lengths of spruce board. I've got the plans sketched out somewhere in the garage, I'll scan them and can email to anyone interested. The box is lined with scrap liner from my pond, neatly folded and streched over the edge of the box. I used a cheap chinese knock off pressure filter which seems to be doing a great job and is really quiet. The water flow is throttled back a bit because at full output the poor G.F. had too much current to deal with. The water lettuce has taken off in the last month to the point where I've been thinning it out almost every third or fourth day. A new red lily bloom is on it's way. Spring can't come soon enough!

[perplexed ponder]

Awesome! I smell a project coming on!!! haha!

[marla]

How fantastic to have the spot to do that, I'd love to see lilies bloom all winter.  Now if I would put a heater in the basement preform maybe it would work.

[Vickie]

I have 2 heaters in my basement 100 gallon pond. I keep tropical water lilies in it that did not tuber or that I want to save the plant too. It has a shop light laying across the top of it. My tropical lilies are not blooming but they look great. I also have Black Mollies in it.

[frloplady]

Love that set up!

I have a stock tank out in the greenhouse (unheated) with a heater in the tank.  The lilies have continued to leave out but I had a bloom a few weeks ago..when the night temps were getting down into the teens in there.  Silly lily.

[Dave in Michigan]

This is amazing especially that only 2 flourescents are used. Garry, are the lights right above the "pond?" Are they on all the time? Does your basement receive much sunlight like through walkout windows/doors?

[GarryT]

Dave,

I only have a single 2 bulb 4'  "shop light" fixture using the T8 34 watt "grow" bulbs. The fixture is fairly close to the surface, probably no more than 5" away. THe "pond" itself has a 2 piece plexiglass cover to reduce evaporation losses (it's really dry here in the winter) and keep the G.F. in as I heard that they can get frisky at times. The light is on a timer from about 7 am in the morning to sometime after 10 pm at night so they receive about 15 - 16 hours a day of light. The tank receives no direct sunlight at all because it is in the basement. It amazes me how the lily flowers are "in sync" with Mother Nature in spite of the timing of the artificial light. They open about 10 in the morning and are closed by 7 in the evening - just about the same as when they were in the outdoor pond.