WATER
LILIES
LT COL
NOEL ELLIS
10/VIII/2021
As we drove down to this remote place, we passed by
a village called Kurul. It was lotus season and the pond along the road was
teeming with conventional ‘Lotus’ flowers. There was a path way which led to a huge
man made lotus. I recognised it, as I had seen it on a programme ‘Highway on my
Plate’.
On one end of the pond is a temple, with steps
leading down to the water’s edge. One can find village folk washing clothes. A
few amateur anglers with improvised fishing rods also try their luck. During
the rainy season, water level rises till the brim. Lotus crop is good in this
two-acre pond.
In our colony, we have these huge ‘saucers’ at
various locations for water lilies. Bluish lilies grow in them. One got fascinated
with them but then somehow we were in a lookout for a suitable container which
soon materialized. Keeping the best out of waste as the basic theme, we got
hold of an old discarded wash basin lying in scrap and that has been holding
our water lilies ever since.
The new lily plant settled down in its new habitat.
Since then we have had a lily bloom every day. Each flower blooms for a couple
of days. Then it loses its tautness and falls, a new bud emerges to replace it.
The old flower falls into water and turns to manure.
There is only a single coloured lily in the colony.
One wanted to diversify the colours. As a collector of multiple colours, like
our hibiscus collection, one wanted to diversify the water lily collection. It
was during an online search one found an assortment of colours available. New
colours would definitely add freshness and zing to the garden. Seeds
arrived and then the eagerness to get them going started.
As the instructions mentioned, the blunt end of the
seed needs to be sandpapered or scraped well before planting. Lily seeds have
two ends, one a pointed one and the other with a little depression. That is the
end which has to be scraped to expose the whitish kernel inside to start the
germination process.
Water lily seeds are extremely hard. One can
compare them with a small stone. Scraping facilitates the first leaf to wriggle
out of its hard shell. Having scraped them, seeds are supposed to be sunk in a
glass of water for a couple of days, with a change of water every day.
Once the seeds were dipped and left to soak, a hunt
for the container started. Once with us, the new sprouts would be shifted
outdoors. These lilies need adequate space to spread their wings.
Just to check out and thank our old water lily
plant, one tried to lift the plant and have a look at its roots. One remembers
that we had made a viscous mix of cow dung manure, mud and water and left it to
settle for a couple of days, till the manure started to break down. Only after
that did we introduce the water lily plant to it.
It took a couple of days for the new plants to
settle down. Initially, the two plants wilted. Their buds which were showing
also fizzled. A few leaves turned yellow but plants were alive. We had issues
with our street dog, as for him it was a new watering hole. Later he did not
like the flower & would bite its neck off.
Out of two, one plant survived. We do not know the
reason. What I reckoned was lack of space may have taken its toll. The
mud-manure mix could have been too concentrated was another reason. Finally,
one plant settled down. It is healthy and surviving till date.
On inspection of the existing plant, one found that
the mesh of roots has eaten away everything which was added to the basin. Now
what exists is thickly entwined roots only. Their density is so much that one
cannot even poke a stick through them. Roots now need to be pruned. Fresh
manure and soil needs to be added to give it more vitality.
Roots were another reason why the water was not
holding in the container. All the water we were adding or what was falling as
rain, spilled over the brims. It doesn’t seep down to the roots below. Water,
mud and manure are the mainstay of these lilies and have to be maintained
constantly.
Our experiment with lily seeds is taking shape and
results eagerly awaited. Two seeds have sprouted. If the colour is common, then
some friend would be the lucky recipient of a present.
Lilies have caught our fascination and brought a
smile every day. What colour would these seeds reveal? I wonder!!!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© NOEL ELLIS
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