Water Hawthorne and How I Grow Them
I have mine in pots that have between 14" to 20" of water over the
top of the pots.
Here in Western Washington, Water Hawthorne will bloom in the
Spring from about April through June and then go dormant until
the weather cools down. In Late August the leaves start to grow
bigger and early September the blooms start in. They will bloom
now till the first heavy freeze. A frost or two will slow them down
but that first freeze does them in. Leaves will continue for a time
but they die away.
Then I just leave them on the pond bottom (about 18" deep at the
top of the pot) till next spring.
If you are having trouble getting them to grow, plant them in a
heavy garden soil with lots of fertilizer. I use the same basic
mixture on the W.H. that I use on my Water Lilies.
Get a pot about 12" to 14" in diameter. They are shallow rooted so
the depth of the pot is not critical.
Put regular plain old yard dirt in the bottom 1/3 of the pot. Mix
into this first layer of dirt about 1/2 cup of a pellitized, slow
release, fertilizer like Mirical Grow or Osmacote with a 10-10-10
mixture. Get this dirt as wet as if you where a kid again and going
to make mud balls. Level this dirt out.
Repeat this dirt/ fertilizer filling till you have the pot full of dirt
EXCEPT the top 1" to 1.5". Doing it in 1/3 sections makes it
easier to get the fertilizer mixed evenly and the dirt evenly wetted
down.
As Water Hawthorne have a weak root system to start with, use
running water to get the plants separated and then get the roots
laid out in a row.
Use a finger and dig a 1/2" to 1" deep trench. I dig one long spiral
trench starting in the center and working my way out to the edge
of the pot.
Start at the outside of the pot and place the roots in the trench
and cover them with dirt as you go. As you get the plants in the
dirt, lay the stems over the edge of the pot. That way they are out
of your way.
When all the roots are in the trench and covered with dirt, start
adding the gravel. Fill the top of the pot with gravel that is about
1/2" to 1" in dia. That keeps the dirt in and the fish out.
((I have also added the gravel right after I covered the roots with
dirt as I worked my way to the center of the pot. Both methods
work about the same.))
Now take the potted plants and submerge the pot in water that is
over the top of the pot. This will finish soaking the dirt. After a day
or 2. Move the pots to the pond so they are covered with about 10"
of water. When the plants are well settled in, about 2 weeks, move
them to the deeper water for the blooming season.
This is how I get mine to grow so big.
When the flowers boom, watch them closely. As they start to sink
in the pond you should be able to see seeds forming. The seeds
are green and look like large pointed grains of rice. When the
seeds have started to form, cut the stem off near the base of the
stem. Take the flower inside the house. Put it in a pot full of room
temperature water in a bright window.
Change the water about twice a week.
The seeds will form and then separate from the blossom base.
When the seeds have seperated, throw out the remains of the
flower and keep the seeds in the pot of water and they will sprout.
Keep changing the water.
New W.H. sprouts are very tender. I plant them in small pots (the
4" plastic ones you buy plants in) of dirt with a little bit of
fertilizer. Careful on the fertilizer. Keep it buried.
Lay the seedlings on top of the wet dirt and sprinkle some more
dry dirt over the roots. Keep the new leaves out of the dirt.
Carefully lower them into the pot full of water and they will start
to grow. As the stems get longer, keep putting them into deeper
pots so you can cover them with more water.
This is the method I have been using and it sure works for me.
It takes more time to type this up than it does to just do it.....
One plant this year will give you all you want for next year.
