Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment Color in a pond ain't a bad thing

All the shown hybrid lilies came from Texas A&M's Dr. Kirk Strawn. He's legendary for his hybridization of hardy water lilies. The 3 lilies shown are his Dallas, Colorados, and Charlene Strawns.

EDIT: corrected mislabeled lilies

Here's a marginal 2' deep shoreline that hybrid lilies have thrived in.


Here's a shallow open water hump that's covered in lilies. LMB are there and biting 100% of the time.


I've planted lilies on 5 brush piles. For 7-8 months a year, the brush piles provide cover and shade.


Just a pic. Like most of the lilies, they hold LMB.

So you gave the big LMB females good cover, excellent places for ambush, AND you made it pretty!

I'll bet there is a waiting list a mile long for the LMB to get into your ponds. You could probably make good money if you added a "cover" charge.

What is the water depth in the pic with the brush pile and the post?

How did you get the lilies established there?

Al, how invasive are these lilies? Do they die in the winter?

Beautiful plants, there are several spots at my place that could use them. Does TAM sell them?

Lilies are excellent habitat and IMO better habitat than brush piles.

Rod, it's about 4' deep right now, and I plant them during low water periods. To plant them, I need 2' or less water, and a mud shovel. I dig down with a 45 degree angle, pry the soil up, then add the tuber under the shovel blade. The porous mud shovel lets me wiggle it out of the soil, and cover the tuber with the soil I lifted with it. I do the same when I'm planting blue water iris.

The most aggressive is the pink Dallas. Because of my pond's size, I prefer the pink lilies because they cover ground quicker than the other 2. The peach Colorado, and the yellow Charlene Strawn are what I would recommend for smaller ponds. They do die back in winter, and the stalks brown out and gradually decompose. You'll know when the lilies are growing in the spring when you see silver dollar sized leaves popping up.

As best as I know Texas&AM doesn't sell them. My place closed because of covid customer loss, so I'm not sure where I'd get them right now. Having said that, if you Google different plants and colors, you may notice a variety of colors, and no consistency among the various websites or shops. That can make things very confusing.

I like the Kirk Strawn lilies because they were hybridized in central TX, and survive the TX heat and droughts well.

Here's a list of all 57 lilies he developed.

Kirk Strawn Lilies

EDIT: corrected mislabeled lilies

Thanks for the info, Al!

Frank, one of the issues of ADD is the inability to clear my head from things that linger and haven't been resolved. I kept looking back at my lilies, and realized that my Denver hardy lilies were actually Dallas hardy lilies. I bought these 10-11 years ago, and somehow Denver got caught in my head. So, if you do get lilies, avoid the pink Dallas lilies because they can be aggressive spreaders. Peach Colorados, and yellow Charlene Strawns are much slower. They're slow enough that I'm going to split them to plant at other areas of my pond. The Colorados and C Strawns are available at different online aquatic plant stores, but I haven't ordered from any of those. I would Google "Kirk Strawn Colorado Hardy Lily" or "Kirk Strawn Charlene Strawn Hardy Lily" . Both list stores that carry them. Expect to pay around $35 each, and 2 day shipping costs.

Thanks again! I'm definitely gonna look into this, my pond could use a touch of color. Plus I have fond memories of fishing the lily pads for bass with my dad. Topwater explosions!

Pro tip: Don't wear a Broncos jersey to AT&T Stadium when Dallas is playing Denver.

Stinkin' Cowboys, they always break fan's hearts. I could get away with a Buffaloes jersey though. Since he's a local, TX peeps have a soft spot for their coach.

OK, you guys lured me in. I would love to have water lily's around the perimeter of my pond. I have 2 orders in for different hardy types, 1 from ebay, 1 from a B Cody link. . Also have an amazon order for biodegradable pots and appropriate soil.

Before I start, any recommendations?

Eastland, my only recommendation would be to double check that you got slow spreaders. You likely do, but orders can get mixed up sometimes.