The most beautiful at a glance

The white water lily

It is considered to be the most beautiful native species of water lily. But: It is under nature protection and must therefore not be taken from wild ponds and lakes. Buy them and plant them! It will soon overgrow large ponds. It can take it up to a depth of 3 m.

Here are the characteristics of Nymphaea alba:

• Distribution: Europe, Asia, North Africa
• kidney-shaped leaves up to 30 cm in size
• dark green leaf color
• Heyday: May to September
• each flower is open for 3 to 7 days
• Flowers: wide open, 12 cm in diameter, 25 petals
• Flower color: white

The dwarf water lily

This specimen is perfect for small ponds with a low water level (maximum 20 cm). It is hardy and can even grow in Buckets thrive. The dwarf water lily blooms from June to August and presents 2.5 to 5 cm wide, star-shaped, white flowers with a pink base.

The blue water lily

The blue water lily, which originally came from Egypt, is not hardy in this country. It convinces with bright green leaves that are up to 40 cm in size and have wavy edges. Its flowers are lilac-colored to blue stars that reach a diameter of 20 cm.

Other types of water lilies

The Mexican water lily also looks interesting with its yellow color. The blue cape water lily impresses with its blue colored flowers. The flowers of the colored water lily are also colored blue (blue-purple and golden-yellow at the base). This species blooms for a very long time, comes from the tropics and is therefore not hardy in this country.

Furthermore, these 3 types are recommended:

• Giant water lily: from Australia and New Guinea, flowers up to 30 cm in diameter, July to September
• Scented water lily: from the USA, tends to proliferate, June to August, white flowers
• Shiny water lily: from Eastern Europe, half-open flowers 9 cm wide, white