Flower longevity

by Ed
(Sarasota, FL)

I've had 2 lovely flowers but they only bloomed for a few hours then they close up and die. The plant looks healthy and are in a 8 x 11 foot pond & waterfall. I live in Sarasota FL so the water temp should be OK. I don't know the species though. Is this normal??

Doug says nope. Those blooms should last quite a bit longer. Understand several things - the first is that this is a very greedy feeder so hopefully you have good feeding in the pots to produce the flowers. If you use "tabs" remember you require about 3 of these per 8-inch pot (and more for larger pots on their regular - usually monthly- replacement.

Secondly, we want shallow water - between 8-12 inches above the crowns. More and you'll see growth and flowering issue like you're describing.

It doesn't matter whether you have a night blooming or day blooming variety, you should be seeing 2-3 days per flower.

Make sure those two things are under control though as a starting point.