Storing tropical lily tubers

[andrew davis]

I guess seeing as some folk prefer pictures, might as well know what you are letting yourself in for when that pot comes out of the water!

Now if you wait for the foliage to turn to mush, cross your fingers that rather painfull cold water has not already killed the tuber

Some are more cold tolerant, than others

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l42/adavisus/

Heres what a modest 5" pot can do:

[andrew davis]

Here is one of the early tubers, teased apart from the tuber mass, ooh, it seems to have a bundle of pea size tubers well formed with roots and shoots, these have plenty of time to grow considerably larger this Autumn

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l42/adavisus/

[andrew davis]

Each of the new pea size tubers is well able to develop a single blooming plant early next Summer

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l42/adavisus/

[andrew davis]

The 1" early tuber that the pea size tubers were plucked from. It has a shoot on it, it still has some life in it to make more offsets. The tubers that came off this tuber were small they can grow larger a while, or be stored

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l42/adavisus/

[andrew davis]

So, in total, six early tubers have formed some 30 or so pea sized tubers, methinks I better split them up as best convenient.

I don't think pea size tubers are convenient to handle, while I'm all for miniaturisation, who needs gnarly large tubers chugging self crowding new plants

Iideally I would prefer a neat easy to handle size single tuber which will sprout a single plant which will bloom like clockwork

Pea size tubers, while completely reliable are going to be silly to store, how are you going to feel where they are within a bag of peat or sand

Half inch to one inch would be about convenient size to get the l'il tubers then store them

Oops, I seem to have a few spare tubers, whatever shall I do with them

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l42/adavisus/

[wagtail]

This is very interesting. I am primarily an aquarium hobbyist who "summer tubs" (22 and counting). I note that in the aquarium stores they always sell tropical lily and aponogeton bulbs DRY in blister packs.

Ted

[wagtail]

>>Thanks so much this really has been a good thread. I always wondered if yall were talking about the pinapples as Craig called them.<<

As an experiemnt tlast year, I broke a Chromatella hardy which is a pineapple rhizome and had it "float" in my aquarium from Nov-May at about 70F. did great, kept a few small light green (indicator?) leaves all the time, and it is doing well this summe rin one of my tub ponds.

I really enjoy the Viviparous tropicals as they handle cold temps VERY well and bloom into Fall here in Zone 6. Those don't have tubers or corms so I will attempt to overwinter them in small mesh pots in one of the aquariums in my fishroom. ANy experience out there with overwintering Vips? Sorry for a basic question.

Waterlily Lovin' Fish Geek,
Ted

[wagtail]

Wow. Great pics, Craig. Thanks.

[wagtail]

...in a mesh bag and float them in my unheated aquarium in the basement. So the water temps in the winter hover between 55-65. The tubers occasionally try to send up a pad but the gold fish usually chomp them off.:

I did this last year with Wood's WHite Knight. My aquariums are heated for tropical fish and it was at about 70F from Nov-June. Kept lots of leaves and roots and did quite well. Alas, this lily has always been slow to grow when the season hits. If it even dips below 70F it goes dormant and stays small for me. I heard the night bloomers tend to be this way (?). Probably wait until 4th July here in Zone 6 before I do this again with this variety. But overwiontering it was easy.