'Black Princess' Water Lily
Stately burgundy tones
Grown by Caroline
Enfield
Perfectly happy plants, or your money back
Specialist overnight plant delivery
The highlights
- Zone 3 - Deep Water
- Thrives in full sun
- Flowers all summer from June to September
- A medium waterlily ideal for middle sized to large ponds.
Description
- Deep burgundy, almost black flowers with contrasting pale stamens
- Floating plants provide shade and shelter for fish as well as protecting them from predators like herons. Also reduces the growth of algae.
- Grow in full sun and still water, away from fountains and splashing water
What To Expect
Supplied as:
Height on arrival:
Eventual height:
Eventual spread:
Time to first crop:
Flower colour:
Habit:
Hardiness:
Rootstock:
Spacing:
How To Grow
Good pest and disease resistance
The most common pests are Water Lily Aphids, the Water Lily Beetle and the China Mark Moth. Water lily aphids are sap-suckers - you may see them on the underside and top of the pads and top of the stems. They can cause yellowing and curling of leaves and destruction of buds and flowers. Control them by hosing down the leaves and stems and squashing and rubbing off with fingers. They can also be drowned by dropping the lily down so leaves are submerged for a day or two. Water lily beetles are small brown beetles whose larvae strip the leaf surface, creating holes and causing the leaves to shrivel and die. Adult beetles also feed on the flowers. They hibernate over winter in poolside plants so cutting these down in autumn will help. Leaves should be hosed down regularly to remove larvae, and adult beetles and larvae can be removed by hand. The China Mark Moth cuts oval shapes from the leaf margins, which can cause extensive damage. Check the underside of leaves and squash the protective cases and brush off. Alternatively remove the affected leaves and burn. Diseases: Water lily Crown Rot causes yellowing leaves which sometimes become mottled. The leaf stems then become soft, slimy and blackened and later break away from the crown. The crown itself will be soft and gelatinous with black tissue inside and will have a bad smell. You should remove and destroy the infected plant before it spreads. Water lily leaf spot causes red or grey-brown spots on the leaves and eventually rot. It looks bad but isn’t too harmful so just remove any affected leaves as soon as they appear. MORE
Plant in water
Needs a permanently wet soil.
Full sun
Position in a pond where the plants will receive at least 6-8 hours of sunlight daily in spring/summer.
Wet, poorly drained soil
Plant in a pond with poorly drained soil. Clay or loam is best.
Feeding may be needed
No feeding is needed if you plant your nymphaea straight into a mature pond with a good layer of sediment, but in newer ponds it's a good idea to feed in the spring, using a slow release tablet fertiliser to make sure that excess nutrients do not leak into the pond and encourage algae. ?v=1613300718
Planting Calendar
- Best time to plant
- Harvest
- Flower
Enfield
Meet Caroline
A deep dive into sustainable gardening
Nestled amongst wildlife meadows and resident ducks, Caroline’s award winning pond plant nursery in Enfield has been making a splash since 1965, when they invented the (recycled, obvs) aquatic basket. Sixty years and multiple RHS gold medals later, they’re still surprising us with new varieties every year!
What customers say about us
We do our best to provide you the best experience ever
Growing with Roots
Good to know
Our plants are grown in the UK
Specialist UK growers we know and trust grow your plants the traditional way, with organic fertiliser and biological pest control. They pick only the healthiest plants for you, professionally pruning them so that they’ll grow strong and well shaped.
Our plants are delivered overnight
Your plants are sent to you fresh from the field in our plastic free box that’s specially designed to hold them tight, then securely delivered by specialist plant couriers - straight from the grower to your garden within 24 hours.
We're here to help at every step
We want your plants to have a long and healthy life. Expect easy-to-follow grow guides and videos devised by our team of experts.
Perfect plants, guaranteed
We’re confident that you’ll be delighted with your new plants. Need help? Alice and her team are here to guarantee you’re perfectly happy.
Learn from our experts
Best Pond Plants: Top 5 Plants to Bring Your Pond to Life
Digging deep to answer your questions
How do I know I'm getting quality plants?
All of our plants are grown in specialist nurseries with the highest standards of plant care and sustainability. We guarantee you'll love them as much as we do! Don't just take our word for it - we've got thousands of great reviews on Trustpilot.
When will I get my plants?
The delivery timescale for each plant is on the web page (near the 'add to basket's button). You'll receive a dispatch email with an exact delivery date once your plants are on their way, so you can get the garden ready.
How will my plants be packed and delivered?
We send all of our orders through a courier network designed to handle plants. Specialist equipment ensures that no plants will be damaged during the packing process and every order is carefully finished and checked by plant-loving humans. Your plants will arrive in the most sustainable packaging possible with minimal to no plastic used.
Where do you deliver?
We deliver to anywhere in Mainland UK for our standard delivery cost. We are able to deliver most plants to Highlands and non UK mainland however this will be at an additional cost. This will be calculated at the checkout. Please note, deliveries to these locations will take longer. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver to Northern Ireland at present.
Ask the grower
One of our trusted team will get back to you via email
What customers say about us
We do our best to provide you the best experience ever
Best plants you will ever get online
I have ordered plants from them twice this year. They arrived well packaged, on time and looked strong and healthy. I feel the staff from Roots plants deal with their plants and customers with passion and care. I can’t wait to order again, price is good as well.
Peter Mawer
Highly recommended all round
Delivered quickly, perfectly packaged and the tree was in excellent condition. Really healthy and taken to the garden with no problems. Can't recommend highly enough. 5 stars isn't enough!
John Harris
Satisfied customer
Unlike other online sellers, this company are well ahead in the quality stakes. My plant arrived promptly as per their promise and the plant was much more established and healthy than I had expected. It’s the second time I have ordered from them and I have faith in their promise. Excellent service.
Karen McEwan
A really good quality tree
A really good quality tree, delivered on time and very well packaged. But the emailed planting advice and supporting information was what really impressed me. Thoroughly recommended.
Martin C Simmons
Exceptional quality
The quality of the plants was exceptional, unlike ones I have had before from local garden centres. Thank you so much. I will definitely be using you again.
Sara Bradley
Marvelous!
Marvelous service, great plants and fast delivery. Very useful information on how to care for the plants I bought. Easy to use website that makes it far too easy to overindulge in fabulous plants😂🌱
Cheryl Mae Owen