Plant Library

Other Names:  Waterlily

Description:

Large, glossy leaves and gorgeous peach colored flowers make this hardy, aquatic lily a real crowd pleaser; easy to care for; water lilies dislike moving water

Ornamental Features

Barbara Dobbins Hardy Water Lily features showy lightly-scented peach cup-shaped flowers with yellow eyes at the ends of the stems from late spring to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive large glossy round leaves emerge burgundy in spring, turning dark green in colour the rest of the year.

Landscape Attributes

Barbara Dobbins Hardy Water Lily is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a low habit of growth, spreading atop the surface of the water. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Barbara Dobbins Hardy Water Lily is ideally suited for growing in a pond, water garden or patio water container, and is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Water Gardens
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting
• Bog Gardens

Planting & Growing

Barbara Dobbins Hardy Water Lily will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity extending to 24 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 6 feet. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the water. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. As an aquatic plant, it requires a suitable water garden environment and will benefit from special planting and ongoing care practices; consult one of our in-store experts for further details and instructions. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Barbara Dobbins Hardy Water Lily is a fine choice for the water garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when grown in outdoor pots and containers, aquatic plants like this one will require a special growing environment that meets their requirement for consistent moisture.