Helping You Become a More Successful Gardener
Plant Search
James H. Schutte
Nymphaeaceae
NYMPHAEA 'Trudy Slocum'
Tropical Night-blooming Waterlily, Trudy Slocum Waterlily
The night-blooming tropical waterlily, ‘Trudy Slocum’ is free-flowering and pungently scented. Its clear white semi-double flowers surround lots of yellow pollen-carrying anthers. The blooms are held above the water’s surface, open around sunset and close at noon the following day. The large round leaves are green with brown-green undersides and float on the surface of the water. (New leaves have occasional purple blotches.) They are supported by flexible brown stems that rise from rhizomes growing in mucky soil below. Insects pollinate the flowers, and the fruits mature below water and produce viable seeds.
Tropical waterlilies require full sun and sites with calm, shallow, warm freshwater. Plant their rhizome directly in heavy, mucky soil or in a large submerged container filled with dense loam or clay-rich garden soil (not light potting mix). Tender tropical cultivars, like ‘Trudy Slocum’, should be in water that is warmer than 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius). When water temperatures drop below this point, plants will stop flowering and reducing growth dramatically. Freezing cold will cause plants to die.
If growing tropical waterlilies in climates with very cold winters, ensure plants are taken indoors before chilly autumn nights arrive. Through the cold season, plants must be grown in submerged watertight pots and placed in a sunny, bright, indoor room to overwinter. In late spring or summer, when water is warm again, the container can be placed in an outdoor pool again. This tropical cultivar is a recommended for any shallow, freshwater pool.
12 - 7
10 - 15
H1, H2, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Aquatics
Full Sun, Partial Sun
5'-6' / 1.5m - 1.8m
Indeterminate
Hybrid Origin
Neutral
Poorly Drained
Clay, Loam, Sand
Wet Site
Fast
Ample Water
Summer, Fall
Showy
White
Green, Dark Green, Brown
Yes
No
Semi-Double
Coarse
Glossy
Semi-Evergreen
Tropical, Water Gardens
© 2006-2021 Preferred Commerce. All Rights Reserved.
