Description of Nymphaea 'Texas Dawn'

Nymphaea 'Texas Dawn' is a hardy water lily for still ponds and containers, grown under the name Texas Dawn. People grow it because it is an award-winning lily grown for its warm yellow and blush pink colouring. It can be a medium to large cultivar that shows best in full sun. Most gardeners simply call it a water lily.

Appearance

Once it settles, Texas Dawn builds a steady cover of floating leaves. Rounded dark green pads to about 20 cm across, often speckled purple when young. You get fragrant flowers up to about 20 cm across with bright yellow inner petals and blush pink outer petals. In still water the buds reach the surface cleanly and open well.

Care Guide

Put Texas Dawn where the water stays still and the sun reaches the surface for most of the day. Plant into a wide aquatic basket with heavy loam based compost and cap with washed gravel so the water stays clear. Lower the basket in stages and settle it at about 45–90 cm over the crown (shallower while it establishes). Use aquatic fertiliser tablets from late spring into late summer, placed into the pot rather than the water. Snip off tired leaves at the base and lift out old flowers to keep the plant moving. As a hardy lily, it can stay in the pond over winter as long as the crown sits below the ice line.

Suitability for Garden Ponds

Allow around about 100–150 cm (can be larger in big ponds) of surface room for Texas Dawn so it does not crowd other plants. A good leaf raft gives fish cover and reduces light reaching the water, which can help with algae. In a compact pond, keep it as the main surface plant and use marginals for height at the edges.

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