The Victoria Cruziana Waterlily is the easiest of the now four types of Victoria out there. Though it is not for the beginner who does not understand its very demanding requirements. These are only shipped after Memorial Day and Can ship separate from the rest of your order - most plants we wont ship separately however this and lotus are an exception.
REQUIREMENTS for Success:
1. A Victoria Lily needs VERY warm water at the root level, 80F or above.
2. A giant pot if you want to achieve maximum size. Though a five to ten gallon fabric container will get you started with a modest plant, a 25 to 100 gallon fabric pot is suggested. That would take many trips to fill or carry into a pond with likely multiple people due to the weight.
3. Only loam soil should be used, never stones or other planting medium.
4. Measured from top of soil to the water surface, 6 to 14 inches in depth is optimal though once established can be lower.
5. Full Direct Sunlight
6. Lots of proper fertilizer but increased slowly from the time the plant begins as a juvenile on delivery. Start with 4-5 fertilizer tablets each week for the first 3-4 weeks about 6 inches away from the main root. Then increase as the plant gets larger. A new leaf surfacing smaller than an old leaf is the sign it is already out of food. Overfertilizing though will kill the Victoria.
How to Ruin / Kill a Victoria
1. Algaecides, especially those with copper will render your plant dead very quickly despite directions on the bottle stating it is safe.
2. Cool water
3. Breaking the newly ascending pad coming from the crown of the root will prevent the plant from ever making another plant and within 5-10 days the plant will perish as leaves on Victoria lilies cycle quickly and do not last long. Also be very gentle when removing from the box, these are covered in sharp thorns from the roots up and are not fun to handle.
4. Over Fertilizing or under Fertilizing (see above how to begin)
A lot of care, time, and space must go in to growing a Victoria lily. It is not difficult at all but please become a good grower of normal tropical lilies before wading into this plant
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