Those pre-packaged lilly bulbs?

[Friendlyfishies]

how big do those get? I picked up a pack of 3 bulbs from petco the other day but im not sure as to how big they get? Cant you trim the leaves consistantly to keep them short? Any info on these would be great! I have a 10 gal and just want to know if I should bother using them or not, thanks!

If anyone has any pics, id love to see how big they get or how they look when grown in a tank :)

[paloverde]

If you trim the leafs that try to shoot to the top , the plant will remain compact

[Oldfishlady]

I have had a 50/50 success/failure with the Red lily pre-packaged bulbs you get at wal mart.
Mine get anywhere from 8in to near 2ft stem that goes to the surface of the water that has a single lily leaf-Heart shaped-The leaf last about a month before it starts to break down and die-but will be replaced on a regular basis. I have up to 10 stems with lily leaf from a single bulb in my 55gal right now that is doing really well. I bought that bulb about 5-6 years ago and it never really did much-other than a few sprouts that never grew bigger than quarter inch or so. Then in the past 60 days it has went nuts and has been growing like crazy-have no idea why it decided to start to grow all of a sudden...but it did....lol....

Once the leaf starts to break down, die or looks bad-I pinch the stem it is growing from as near to the bulb as I can. The heart shaped leaves are about the size of my hand more or less. They start out red in color and once they reach the surface-will turn green with red dots. I only get one leaf per stem-but get lots of stems per bulb.

I have another one that came in the same package and it has done well from the start and I have even propagated from it. I use a razor blade to slice it up to make two plants and both are doing well. Part of it is in a 10gal and once the leaf reaches the surface-they only grow a few more inches-So the stem doesn't get as long in the 10gal as it does in the 55gal.

I don't bury the bulb-I let it sit on top of the substrate-I haven't really seen that many roots-they do have some but not many. I got both sinkers and floater bulbs and the sinkers are the only ones that ever grew/sprouted. The floaters never rotted or got soft-but never would sink....I tossed them...

I have never tried the bulbs from either petco or petsmart-just the one from wal mart.

[ItsKourtneyYoC8]

I got mine from Walmart too. It took a while for it to sprout but I.guess.it was.because it got.moved but it recently started sprouting and there are stems coming form like every angle and the leaves get bigger.everyday. I buried mine in soil with river rocks on top. I'll post a pic for you.
Maybe you should leave them above the substrate and if they start to sprout bury them. I love mine already!

[ItsKourtneyYoC8]

The bigger leaf is about an inch and a half long

[aokashi]

i dont bury mine either

[Friendlyfishies]

wow nice looking lilly's everyone! Cant wait til mine sprouts...I had 2 floaters out of 3 so I didnt even both wasting time with the floaters but im hoping the one that stays down on top of the sand will sprout :D

[babystarz]

OMG mine got so huge, it took over my 20 gallon and I had to throw it out. I later found out that they only stay small if you prune the leaves before they reach the water surface. I had 20 different leaves all from the same lily plant blocking light from reaching any of the other plants in my tank. So make sure you stay on top of that, or you'll end up with a behemoth plant too big for your tank. None of the other bulbs ever even sprouted. Go figure XD

[ItsKourtneyYoC8]

Originally Posted by Friendlyfishies

wow nice looking lilly's everyone! Cant wait til mine sprouts...I had 2 floaters out of 3 so I didnt even both wasting time with the floaters but im hoping the one that stays down on top of the sand will sprout :D

Be hesitant when you throw away floaters! I jade one and it sprouted. They are just a tad bit slow C;

[ItsKourtneyYoC8]

Originally Posted by aokashi

i dont bury mine either

How big are those leaves and what size tank?

Do the leaves round out as they grow or something?