| Trimming and pruning your water lilies is important | | | | Think about it this way, if the root of the plant |
| for three reasons: | | | | only has so many nutrients it can absorb and |
| First, you don't want old, decaying leaves rotting | | | | distribute to all of the pads and flowers, it makes |
| in your pond. | | | | sense that with fewer stalks, pads, andflowers to |
| Second, trimming old, dying pads stimulates the | | | | 'share' these nutrients - the remaining ones will be |
| plant to produce more fresh ones. | | | | healthier and more vibrant. |
| And third -- it just looks better! | | | | You'll be surprised at how many pads you can cut |
| To determine when to prune your water lilies - | | | | out, and still have a great looking plant (with lots |
| use your own judgement for the most part. But | | | | of remaining coverage). |
| if you notice a pad that is yellowing, or has begun | | | | Lastly, when pruning your lily - just use regular |
| to decay in any way, or has black spots on it - | | | | gardening shears, but make sure they are sharp |
| cut it off. | | | | enough to give you a clean cut. I like to cut mine |
| I also like to 'thin out' my coverage from time to | | | | 1-2 feet below the surface of the water, so I |
| time, and keep my lily pads from overlapping or | | | | don't see the dead stalk in the pond, and to |
| becoming too crowded. It seems to keep the | | | | minimize what will die and decay after pruning. |
| remaining pads more healthy. | | | | |