Water jug (lat. Nymphaea)-a plant with several names (water lily, water jug, nymphaea), belongs to the family of the jugs and has about 50 species in its composition.
Appearance and description
At the lining of nymphs on the leaves there are long petioles that rise vertically. Sometimes it happens that some parts of them remain under water, but there may be surface. On top of water, the leaves grow in the summer season, in their shape resemble a heart or circle, the surface is quite dense, but not wetted with water. Coloring varies from green, mottled, red or pink. Water lilies that live in moderate climate lie on the surface of the water, and nymphs from warm regions rise above the water. The leaves in their size change depending on the type of plant.
Nymphaeum flowers are formed above the water, they have long pedunks. During flowering, they captivate the people who see them with their beauty. The length of the petioles and flowers depends on the depth of the reservoir in which they live. In their structure, they are flexible, without any problems move on the surface of the reservoir and resist the strong current. Another feature can be called that during the closure, flowers are immersed in water. In addition, in the rain they may not come to the surface at all.
Nymphaeum flowers grow singlely, the diameter entirely depends on the type of water lily, but basically the dimensions do not exceed 30-35 centimeters. The petals are located in the center, form a bowl inside which there are many yellow pestles and stamens. Their color has a wide variety. In a temperate climate in a nymph, color varies from pink to white. In the tropics, species can have lilac, blue or even purple hue.
In reservoirs that are located in the north, nymphs bloom in June, on the southern at the end of spring.
Lifetime
On average, one flower lives about four and a half days. Insects pollinate them, seeds germinate under water, and after the expiration of the ripening period, they pop up and they are carried by the course. In the future, they slowly settled to the bottom and germinate already there.
Usage
Water lilies do not bring any benefit and give only aesthetic pleasure. Decorative ponds have long have become the norm, since you can build a similar one without any problems. Among the plants that people grow on their home reservoirs, without a doubt, the leading place is occupied by water lily. It reduces the growth of algae, does not allow water to bloom.
Varieties are usually planted at a certain depth:
- Small, the diameter of which is 6-15 centimeters, planted to a depth of ten to fifty centimeters;
- Medium, which do not exceed their size 15-18 cm and sit at a depth of 30-65 centimeters;
- Large, in which the flower can reach 30 centimeters in diameter, and the depth, where they are planted 100 centimeters.
Experts very often recommend leaving more than half of the water mirror free to emphasize all the magic of water nymphs. But they do not need to be planted in large quantities, 5-6 pieces on a small pond are enough. They grow with a quick speed, but flowering, regardless of the rate of development, becomes rare every time. All the work will be covered with leaves, and this is not very beautiful, because fish or other small animals can live in a decorative reservoir.
Multi-colored lilies should not be mixed together, because due to the difference in size and shades, the beautiful view turns into colorful gruel, and this already spoils all the jewelry that they tried so hard over. But, if you still decide to plant several types of water lily in one place, you must definitely remember the separation by color so that everything does not turn into porridge.
Care
In order for the water jugs to sprout and live well for a long time, we must not forget about some key rules for caring for them:
- Lighting. The reservoir should not be closed from sunlight, at least a natural color should fall on it at least a day, which cannot be replaced with artificial.
- Landing. In the case when the decorative pond of small sizes, the nymphs are best placed in the most ordinary pot for flowers, a basket or other container, and then lower it to the bottom. The smaller the size of the reservoir, the more frequent cleaning it needs. That is why the best solution would be a pot, because it can simply be removed, and then it is drained from the pit and replace it, in contrast to fullfledged growing plants, which not everyone can arrange cleaning for the power.
- Fertilizer. Mostly behind plants that grow on water, care is not needed. They have enough microorganisms and decomposed trace elements living inside the reservoir. And special fertilizers are used already in extreme cases, or when transplanting nymphs, so as not to injure the one.
- The soil. The more nutrients the earth stores in itself, the faster the growth of plants will be and better flowering awaits the owner. The main criterion for soil assessment is the viscosity: clay mixed with garden soil in proportions of 1: 3, according to many, is the best solution for a small decorative pond.
