Propagation, Culture, And Winter Care
Best time to propagate
Propagation by Runner
Propagating the Tropicals
>Viviparous reproduction
Chain Propagation From Tubers
Wintering the Tropicals
As the leaf of a viviparous water-lily becomes mature, a discolored
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bump forms at the umbilicus, the point where leaf and stem join. The bump breaks after a few days, and tiny, perfectly proportioned leaves begin to form and develop, sometimes growing to the size of silver dollars. Then on some varieties, a perfectly formed miniature of the parent bloom unfolds.
In the meantime, the tiny plant develops a small tuber and root system, out of sight, on the underside of the leaf.
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Plate 27. Viviparous water-lilies produce offspring which are miniature in both blooms and foliage. A nodule forms at the junction of stem and leaf, breaks, and sends leaves and flower stem upward, roots downward. Transplanted, the miniatures become normal, full-sized plants.
It is easy to nurse these miniatures to maturity. Simply pluck off a plant-bearing leaf and spread it flat on a pot of saturated earth, pinning the leaf in place with pieces of twig. By the time the big leaf has decomposed, the little plant will have established itself as a healthy, growing tropical, ready for planting in the pool.
Those tropical species which are viviparous are somewhat smaller in growth than the others. However, they have been crossed with a number of the larger hybrids, so that now we have several viviparous hybrids of tremendous size.
The viviparous forms are a problem. The dozens of small plants born in your pool in a single blooming season will be far too numerous for the space. And they will be far too pretty to throw away. The only consolation I can offer is that nobody else knows what to do with them either.