Nymphaea ‘Helvola’ – Dwarf Water Lily

Description

Also listed as ‘Yellow Pygmy.’ This is a true dwarf water lily, the smallest of the lilies that we grow in ceramic pots. The dwarf size must come from Nymphaea tetragona and the yellow color presumably from the Mexican water lily, N. mexicana. As you can see from the photo an established plant can have numerous flowers open at one time. This is probably a 15″ pot – I imagine you might see even more flowers if you grew it in say a 24″ pot. The flowers don’t open up until late morning and don’t compensate by staying open later than other lilies, but this one drawback can be forgiven for such a perfect lily for tub culture.