Going Nuts About Protein

Wildlife in Focus - Golden Whistler

This bird is one of Australia’s loudest and most beautiful songsters but scientists give it a most unkind name. There’s even one group on Norfolk Island that they call Tamey.
The call has been described as up to 35 loud, rapid, ringing notes without pause, or a high, thin call with a whip-crack.
Listen to this. I'm talking with ecologist Sue Stevens

As Sue mentioned, the Golden Whistler is found from Cooktown in North QLD to the Eyre Peninsular in the South, as well in Southern WA. This bird inhabits most kinds of dense forest, its diet consists of insects, grubs and small fruits
The Golden Whistler will visit suburban areas close to nature reserves if gardens include thick vegetation, layers of trees, shrubs and ground cover. Collecting firewood from local reserves is not a good idea if you want native birds to visit your area.
 Keep your cat in at night and give it a stimulating indoor environment and a cat run or enclosure, to minimise the threat to birds.
If you have any questions about the Golden Whistler, or have spotted it in your neighbourhood, why not send in a photo or drop us a line. Or send in a photo to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, and I’ll send you a copy of the Garden Guardians in return..

Vegetable Heroes

This week’s Vegetable Hero is Peanuts!
Arachis hypogaea, or peanut is not a true nut but a legume, like peas, and beans.
Why peanuts? Because people tell me it’s easy, and fun thing to try.
Another announcer here at the station, bought a small plant from a low cost supermarket last year, planted it in a pot and harvested some peanuts.
He was amazed at how easy it was and wondered if it would continue to crop the following year.
I’ll answer that later.
Anthropologists working on the slopes of the Andes in Brazil and Peru have discovered the earliest-known evidence of peanut farming dating back an amazing 7600 years. Amazing!
Did you know that peanut growing was introduced into Australia in Queensland during the gold rushes of the 1870's.
Chinese gold diggers on the Palmer River near Cooktown, around this time were the first to grow peanuts.
The peanut plant grows to a bush about 50 cm tall and up to 100 cm wide.
Small, yellow, pea-type flowers emerge at 30-40 days after planting give or take a few weeks, and, after self-pollination, the ovary's base elongates, bends downwards and penetrates the soil.
The tip of this 'peg' then enlarges to form a pod containing one to three kernels.
Depending on what variety you managed to get, where you’re growing your peanuts and what the weather’s like that season, will determine how long your peanuts will take to grow.
Peanuts can take anywhere from from 14 to 26 weeks, or 3 ½ to 6 months.
Peanuts aren’t too fussy about the type of soil you’ve got.
However, Peanuts are a subtropical legume crop needing relatively warm growing conditions and 500 to 600 mm of rain.
As long as the soil is well-drained and friable with no large stones, sticks, stumps or chemical residues.
Peanuts can tolerate a wide range of pH - from 5 to 8, but can’t tolerate heavy clay soils.

When to Plant

Planting usually occurs from October to January in Queensland and NSW. In the Northern Territory, plantings occur in March-April.
Peanuts have been commercially trialled in Western and South Australia, so give them a go there too.
For cooler zones, plant your peanuts in pots or containers and keep the going by placing them in the warmest part of the garden.
Where Can You Get It?

The seed that is.

To grow your own peanuts if you can’t find any peanut bushes to buy, it’s sort of easy.
What you need is a packet or raw peanuts. Not salted or roasted or any other fancy shmancy types.
It has to be raw peanuts.
Then, like any other seed, you sow some raw peanuts either into jiffy pots, punnets or into a garden bed.
Sow each seed 3-5cm deep and if they are fresh they should germinate in one to two weeks).
There’s a few strange and weird things about looking after your peanut bushes though.
For instance, you might be surprised to know that the pods take most of their calcium and boron directly from the soil rather than through the roots.
Sprinkle some Dolomite, which contains Calcium, around the plant before flowering.
Next, watering is critical particularly during the critical stages of germination, flowering, pegging, and pod filling.
Yes, that's right, all the time the peanut is growing.

When Are They Ready?

The next trick is to know when to dig up the peanuts, and like a lot of things that grow in the veggie bed, it’s when the leaves start to turn brown. You can check to see if they’re ripe by digging a few up.
What you need to see are dark-coloured pods inside the shell, where the kernel should be changing from a pink to gold colour.
Not all the pods will be ready at once so timing is important.
But look, if you get it wrong, that try again next year.
For Brian,  the announcer at 2RRR 88.5fm, who experimented with growing peanuts, the answer to will the plant grow again next year.
No, because you have to dig up the whole plant, shake off the excess soil and hang the entire thing up in a warm, dry place, such as the garage or garden shed.
Dry the bush for a week or two until brittle then break off the pods.
Wash off any dirt-dirt isn’t too tasty- and air-dry for a couple of weeks.
If you like raw peanuts you don’t have to do any more.
  If you like roasted peanuts, then put them on a tray in the oven at 160-180°C in an oven for 15-20 minutes for shelled kernels or 20-25 minutes for peanuts still in the shell.
Why is it good for you?
Peanuts are high in fibre and protein but free of cholesterol.
They’re a high energy food but with a slow energy release over a long time because of the high oil unsaturated (good) fat content.
They also have a high folic acid (iron) content

Living Planet

with Sophie Golding
It’s great to have all kinds of creatures visit your garden. You put out those bits of white bread for the maggies, or those seed bells for the cockatoos.

What’s wrong with that?
Animals that expect to be fed by people can become aggressive, harassing people for food when they are hungry.
The Ibis at the Botanic gardens where I teach visiting schools, are an example.
I’m often asked by visiting students why the Ibis seem to harass them.

Whatever your thoughts,
 Listen to this….

The NSW department of Environment and Heritage suggests that when you feed native animals you're giving them the wildlife equivalent of junk food.
When kangaroos and wallabies become used to being hand-fed, they sometimes attack people in their quest for food. Remember, they have sharp claws and a strong kick.
Another example is in Flinders Chase on Kangaroo Island where they’ve had to put up cages around the eating tables in the national park, so people can eat in peace.
If you have any questions about this Feeding Wildlife, send it our email address, or just post it.

Plant of the Week

Alliums

 The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic.

There are lots of plants that you may know in this perennial bulb family group, including the various edible onions, garlics, chives, and leeks, and of course society garlic. Most of them have an onion or garlic taste and perfume.

You might think that Alliums are in the Alliaceae family.

They were but have been reclassified into the family Amaryllidaceae.

Chives have pretty cute pom pom purple flowers that make a nice low border in the garden. Although many of the plants in the onion family have flowers with that distinctive onion or garlic scent, many others are have a delicate floral aroma.

Did you know that these floral scented Alliums are often used in perfumes and cosmetics?
But there are also other members of the onion family that have quite a wow factor when it comes to their flowers.
Like a lot of bulbs, Alliums don’t repeat flower.

What’s good about ornamental alliums is that the flower heads can be left on the plant to dry.
The dried seed heads look attractive in the garden and can be used for cut flower arrangements.

If you’ve got dry weather, keep the foliage watered even after flowering, to feed the plant.

 Don't be put off by the height of the ornamental Alliums because their leaves are usually straight-linear, channelled or flat, and don't take up much room. A great design element!

Technically the flowers umbels where the outside flower first and progresses to the inner flowers.

Ornamental alliums were a big feature in many of the gardens that I saw this year in the UK.

Some RHS gardens and what they called a wide border which was literally filled with alliums.

Alliums with their purple pom pom flowers really provided a vertical and linear element, amongst the flower borders.

Sometimes the flowers are described as fireworks in mid-explosion.

The purple and the green, although not opposites in the colour wheel, were definitely a standout amongst the crowd.

Really a must have plant in a perennial border because you can enjoy flowers from spring until autumn.

By mid-spring, packed, rounded heads of violet-purple stand on strong stems that reach up to 90cm high.
The leaves are bright green and the flowers, which kind of remind me of Agapanthus flowers in size and shape, soft to the touch, with lots of petals.

 How to grow your Allium bulbs-yes bulbs.

In general, alliums need a sunny position and good drainage.

The important point is that they need a well-drained site.
They don’t like cold, exposed or waterlogged conditions.
Being bulbs, they'll come up every year without you having to do another thing. Brilliant!

Plant bulbs in the autumn, to twice the depth of the bulb.

Most Alliums will do well in deep pots.
Congested clumps can be lifted and divided - straight after flowering, if necessary.
Dead-head before the seeds disperse if you want to avoid seedlings.

Their nectar-rich flowers will attract bees and hoverflies
Alliums go well with soft pastels, among old-fashioned roses,  among a Mediterranean mix of lavender, artemisia, sage and phlomis.

 

 

 

Some Alliums for you to try:
Purple Sensation'. will tolerate more shade
Allium ‘Millenium’

Allium giganteum like its name suggests, is bit of a giant, though slightly later to flower.

It reaches 1.2m (4ft) tall and each large 15cm (6in), spherical head is lilac-purple

Both A. cristophii and A. schubertii can be grown on heavier soil in full sun, but will only successfully overwinter and multiply if given good drainage.
 

This is the first Australian release of the very best perennial Allium. It forms a compact upright clump of glossy green, narrow strap-like leaves. From mid-summer into autumn 35cm tall stems carry a profusion of large bright purple-rose balls of flowers. Foliage mounds grow 30cm tall by 30cm wide.

Allium sphaerocephalon-Drumstick Allium

From January, metre tall stems are topped by green golf balls which over a period of a week or so gradually turn purple.  Increases readily. Sun. 100cm x 10cm.

Allium roseum, A. sphaerocephalon and A. vineale produce aerial bulbils in flower head.
Carefully remove and separate the bulbils and plant them in moist free draining compost about 2.5cm (1in) apart and cover with 1cm (3/8in) layer of compost.

Available from Lambley nursery.

Allium christophii -35x 30cm

One of the most beautiful large headed Alliums with huge 20cm mauve heads on short squat stems. Better than many of the modern breeds, with fewer disease issues and good garden persistence in a well drained position.

From Diggers Seeds www.diggers.com
Why not treat yourself to a big flowered one? Go on.

 

Bower Birds and Oriental Garden Themes

 REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition
Wildlife in Focus:Some birds have such peculiar habits it makes them fascinating and the Bower Bird is not exception. John Dengate, TV personality and author of "Attracting Birds to Your Garden in Australia", knows all about Bower Birds, listen as he tells us about some of the marvelous insights into this bird.

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Vegetable Heroes:       The snow pea is Pisum sativum var. saccharatum. or (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon) is a distinct botanical cultivar or subspecies of garden peas The pod is pretty much flat and is eaten before the string develops and the peas start to swell.
You plant Snow Peas from April until September in warm Temperate climates, April to July in sub-tropical areas, April to October in cool temperate districts and May to July in Arid zones.
Edible podded peas do best under cool, moist growing conditions. The crop is sensitive to heat, so winter time is the best for growing them
Snow peas like day temperatures from 15^o to 18^oC average.
The stems and foliage of Snow Peas mostly aren’t affected by frost, but will get some damage if a cold snap follows a period of warm weather, but flowers are made sterile by frost and so are the pods. Pinch off the flowers so new ones will grow.
Peas thrive on a wide range of soil types, as long as the soil is well drained with good depth.
Peas and other legumes (even wattles) have symbiotic bacteria in their roots called  rhizobia, that 'fix' nitrogen in the soil meaning that peas are capable of manufacturing their own nitrogen.
Peas then don’t need as much fertiliser as other vegies and are good to dig into the soil to concentrate available nitrogen for future crops.
I assume that they're still pretty hungry for other nutrients though - so a bit of fertiliser won't go astray.
In the colder months, my mantra is, liquid fertiliser works best, as granular fertilisers take months to break down in cold weather. Compost and worm tea are garden gold.

Design Elements: We can have Federation, Bush garden or Cottage garden styles, but Real World Gardener listeners heard last week that you can have different themes within these styles. Ever thought of oriental area in your style of garden? Listen here to garden designer Lesley Simpson and Marianne talk about this theme.

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Plant of the Week: Banksia ericifolia subsp. Macrantha or Heath Banksia.
Are possums making a mess of your garden?  Maybe they’re eating your rose foliage or winter fruits like oranges. Let’s face it we live amongst the habitat of creatures like possums, and in winter time, food becomes scarce. Planting a few native bushes will go a long way to helping these critters out and give you peace of mind. 
 If you want to stop a possum from eating a certain plant in the garden, a good method is to block access to the plant for at least three weeks. That changes the pattern of behaviour for the animal and they seek food elsewhere. This may mean throwing something unslightly over the plant for that time, but it’s only for three weeks. Good luck.
Banksia ericifolia subsp Macrantha grows to 5 metres  and adapts well to most soils. The photo was taken on a windy coastline on the way to Maitland Bay, so you can see it tolerates a good deal of salt spray. Honeyeaters are attracted to this plant.

Black Gold Good 4 The Soil

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.
NEW SEGMENT
Compost Capers: all about different types of composting. Today we continue with worm farms and why are worms so good for the soil? What do they actually do? How do they actually eat those food scraps if they haven’t got any teeth? Listen here to Cameron Little, Director of www.sustainabilitysystems.com.au talk about this topic.

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Vegetable Heroes:Pass the Peas Please. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a (pea) flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking. Peas belong to the Fabaceae family, which means they fix Nitrogen from the air into their roots.
The best time to sow Peas, if you are living on the East Coast is from April until September from April until august in arid climates, from April and until July in sub-tropical districts and for cool zones, late winter until October. On the Tablelands they should be sown after the last frosts.
Best planted at soil temperatures between 8°C and 24°C.
Sow the seeds directly into the soil 15mm to 20mm deep (1'' or knuckle deep) . Water in well and don't let them dry out.
I like to soak my Pea seeds over night. This helps achieve a better strike.
Some gardeners prefer to sow their seeds into tubs/punnets so they can keep a closer eye on them especially if there is a possible of a frost, once they have their second crop of leaves and no more frost, they can be transplanted out in the garden.
TIP:Peas  don’t  seem to grow well near Onions, Chives, Garlic.  Peas  don’t like a lot of mulch or manure especially up against the stalk/stem, or being over-watered as they tend to rot off at the base of the stem.
Wait until they have started flowering and then give them a good feed of liquid fertilizer at least once a fortnight.
Liquid fertilizerS you will get a better result in a shorter time.
By watering Peas in the mornings will help to avoid mildew. Don’t overhead water late in the afternoon. If you do have mildew, try spraying with 1 part whole MILK tp 9 parts water.
Design Elements:       Today the problems “a couple of awkwardly shaped areas that the owners don’t know how tom make look attractive. Somewhere where the grass won’t grow properly? so pencils at the ready....!

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Plant of the Week:Proteas, Protea nerifolia.
Proteas can grow in all parts of Australia but need great drainage, so if you’ve got clay soil, forget it. All Proteas love a sandy loam or open soil.    Do test your soil pH as most Proteas need acidic soil with a pH below 6.
Proteas need full sun with good air movement. Because they keel over with  humidity. The more sun they more flowers for all Proteas. Full sun by the way, means around 4-6 hours of sunlight and not dappled sunlight.
A few varieties will grow and flower in semi-shade-P. Nerifolia Cream Mink, P repens Honeyglow, P.magnifica x pudens Juliet,P. Frosted Fire and P. Pink Ice.
P. Pink Ice is the one you most see in floral displays.
Mulch your Proteas but only use a natural mulch such as bark or straw or leaves.
TIP:Don’t disturb the plants roots when weeding.
Proteas are pretty tough once they're established.
Water at least twice a week in the first summer, - daily when it's really hot. You can gradually reduce this as the plant becomes established.
TIP:Remember Sabina's litmus test for all plants, 2 seasons for establishment.
Proteas can be grown in tubs and containers but will need watering every day.     
Generally it is not necessary to feed Proteas planted in the garden unless your conditions are extremely severe, like in a sand belt. 
Proteas grown in tubs will need feeding with controlled release fertiliser, a low phosphorus variety.
Proteas become untidy looking if you don’t at least prune off the flowers when they’ve finished. Removing flowering stems helps keep the bush compact and looking great. 
With young bushes tip prune in spring and late summer. With mature plants prune immediately after flowering, usually leaving 10cm of healthy stem.
Varieties- King Pink Protea cynaroides. The King Protea is one of the most popular varieties, having one of the largest flower heads in the protea family. Nana
     

Florence Fennel Goes Alfresco

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm Sat. 12noon, 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available  on http://www.cpod.org.au/
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Design Elements: How do you create that spot in the garden to make having lunch there inviting? Have a few friends around, share a cup of tea, or maybe a glass of wine on some comfy chairs around a big table. Listen here for some other ideas with Lesley Simspon garden designer and Marianne (host)

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Vegetable Heroes:       Florence Fennel Foeniculum var. azoricum
Florence Fennel? Some might think that I’m promoting the roadside weed that is found all over Australia. No, I’m talking about the culinary fennel.
 Now is ideal, when the temperature is stable, day length is consistent and there's at least 16 weeks for bulbs to develop. 
 In sub-tropical areas, you can plant or sow seeds from March until until May, in temperate zones, from February until May, in cool temperate zones, you have from February until about mid- March, and for cold or mountain districts, it was February then not again until November/December unless you have a greenhouse.

•  Florence Fennel is a perennial which can grow quite tall-to about 1 ½ metres-about 5 feet, so at the back of your garden bed so it doesn’t shade out the other veggies. It resents disturbance and responds to any shock by bolting: producing feathery fronds and flowers, but no swollen stems.
•  Because it grows so tall, the feathery leaves may need some support, particularly if you have windy days in your area.
• The bulb grows only partially below ground, and mostly above ground it suits those districts with heavy soils. Otherwise, you can grow it in a pot-by itself.
• Florence Fennel isn’t too fussy with soils as long as the veggie bed, or garden bed is well drained as has compost or decayed animal manure dug in, In cool temperate districts cut back the plant to about 10cm above the ground as winter draws nearer.
• Fennel likes a well-drained soil, fertile from having been manured the previous year. 
• Florence Fennel seeds need to be planted 5cm deep, and unless you’ve got a lot of space, you don’t need more than 2 or 3 because they need spacing of about 50cm.
• Never let soil dry out. Water is needed for germination, steady growth and swelling. If roots become visible or plants seem unsteady, earth them up to stabilise them. This will help make bulbs white and tender and, later, exclude frost.
• After about 6 weeks you can hill out the soil around the emerging bulb so that, like Celery, the base stays white and is more tender than if you allow the sunlight to turn it green.
•  Plants take several months to mature that’s 3-4 months after sowing. 
• Use a fork to loosen the roots and cut the bulb off about 2.5cm above the ground. Further, feathery shoots will appear which can be used as celery/dill-flavoured seasoning in the kitchen.- Some seed uppliers online     www.edenseeds.com.au and www.diggers.com.auwww.cornucopiaseeds.com.au

Plant of the Week: Plumeria rubra-Frangipani. Plumeria rubra  Apocynaceae (dogbane)family.
Plumeria is generally a small tree growing to about 5-8 metres. Its broad, usually round-headed canopy with a thick trunk and several broad branches.
Often as wide as the tree is tall. . The leaves are usually glossy green but may be dull green; they are generally pointed (P. rubra var. acuminata or var. acutifolia)
In temperate and colder  districts no matter what type you bought, the leaves will fall during wintertime, and new leaves emerge during or following the spring flowering period.
It is easy to grow in hot, dry areas and is found in Adelaide in sheltered positions, as well as further north.
It grows and flowers best in full sun and in a well drained, slightly acidic soil. Shadier positions tend to give it problems like scale which then leads to sooty mould growing on the leaves, and the Frangipani won’t flower as well.
It has moderate wind resistance and salt tolerance. For best growth and flowering in the landscape, irrigation is needed during dry periods.
The trees reach maturity (full size) in about five years in tropical climates, but take quite a bit longer here in colder districts.
Plumeria can be grown to a relatively large size in large tubs because they have such tiny root systems.
Propagation:The usual way to propagate plumeria is by hardwood cuttings in late winter, early spring  because this method maintains the selected cultivar. Tip cuttings 30-60cm or even longer.
The old-fashioned method says you should be allowed to “cure” in a dry place for at least two weeks before planting.
The new method needs none of this. Get a plastic bag about 7cm in size. The frangipani society of Australia use zip lock bags. Half-wet some sphagnum moss, not dripping, just like a wrung out sponge and place it around the cut end. Enclose this in the bag, then tape it up with duct tape or something similar.
Put it upright into a pot so the leaves will grow upright. In 6-8 weeks you should have new roots-they look quite white and brittle. Leave it longer if you like but be very careful when you’re potting it up. The roots are extremely brittle. Any pulling of the bag, and you’ll rip the right off. Proceed with caution.
Pot your cutting up into a very small pot and stake it as well. Large pots will mean that surrounding soil won’t heat and enough and this will set back the growth of your Frangipani cutting.
Do not water too much or too often while plant is settling in. It can stay in the pot for 2-3 years or you can plant it out into the garden at that point..
The young root systems are brittle, and transplanting, if necessary, must be done carefully. Do not leave plants in small containers too long, or the circling roots will cause problems of weak establishment when the plant is transplanted into the landscape.


Photo of new method of taking Frangipani cuttings.

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Talking Brush Turkeys and Waterlillies

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm Sat. 12noon, 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/  select 2RRR to access the feed.
Th help Real World Gardener be the best, please fill in the survey at the end of this blog.
Wildlife in Focus:The Brush Turkey is making a comeback in leafy suburban gardens. Some people haven’t seen them, and some have only seen their handiwork. Rumours abound about how to get rid of them from your garden. Are they really that bad? Listen toecologist,  Kurtis Lindsay talk about this Gondwanan bird.

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Vegetable Heroes:Carrots or  Daucus carota var. sativus were one of the first vegetables grown by man and are related to parsley.
Carrots are cold tolerant but can grow in all but the hottest climates. They grow year round in subtropical climates, sow them spring and summer in temperate zones and mid-Spring to the end of Summer in cold districts.
They prefer full sun but can grow in partial shade.
Avoid adding fertilisers and manures to the soil just before sowing, or you’ll get carrots that will fork and become hairy. They like beds manured in the previous season.
Make sure the soil has been worked over with no stones or sticks otherwise the carrots will grow into funny shapes or be stunted.
The easiest way to sow carrots is to mix a packet of  seed with one cup of  river sand, pouring the contents into seed drills .
Cover the seed with finely sieved compost or a drizzle of sugar cane mulch. Not too thick or they won’t germinate.
Too much water and the roots might crack so only give carrots small amounts in the first eight weeks of growth. Here are some varieties to get you interested;
All Seasons mainly for Queensland and NSW,  and Royal Chantenay suits heavy soils, both need 10-11 weeks.
C Little Fingers-sweet baby carrots about 10cm long-8weeks.
New Kuroda is heat tolerant and grows to 18cm long and another one for pots Chantenay Red-Cored with the shortest root, orange-red colour through-out, sweet and tender. Suited to heavy soils. 7-10 weeks.
Round and short varieties can be grown in planters or pots,  but the long types need about 20cm of soil depth in the open garden.
Design Elements: -      Planter or container gardening can be many people in different situations: 
whether you have mobility issues, problem soil, not enough space or just a plain plant addict, planter gardening ticks all the boxes. Listen here to garden designer Lesley Simpson and Marianne discuss this topic.

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Plant of the Week:Waterlillies or Nymphaea spp.
There are two main types of water lillies:
Small growing tropical, day flowering waterlilies:
These waterlilies are suitable for small tubs in balcony/rooftop gardens, small ponds/water features and any shallower water areas. They are smaller in leaf spread, hence, coverage is less when compared with a standard size waterlily. Growth tip of the plant could be submerged between 15cms to 30cms below the water surface.
Hardy waterlilies come in small and miniature. Miniature water lilies tend to grow slower than their bigger brothers, no need to divide - repot as often, typically every 2-3 years may be enough for the smallest types.
These waterlilies are suitable for small tubs in balcony/rooftop gardens, small ponds/water features and any shallower water areas. They are smaller in leaf spread, hence, coverage is less when compared with a standard size water lily. Smaller miniature water lilies need only 5-10cm of water over the crown (the growing tip that produces the leaves), making them ideal for planting in bowls and smaller water features.
Getting waterlilies to flowers is one of the most asked questions by home gardeners.
The main reasons are;
Not enough day length. Full sun means full sun, and not dappled anything or even part sun.     Temperature is the second factor-hardy waterlilies start to flower at temps over 16-18C⁰.       Hardy waterlilies need room to grow, so pot them up into a bigger pot size if you’ve met the other criteria and feed them with a controlled release fertiliser tablets.
Water. Well it may seem simple, but they do not need a lot of work. As with any plant, some maintenance is required to get the best results. Miniature water lilies need about 10cm of water above the crown, whereas most other water lilies prefer 30-60cm.

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