Dwarf Aquarium Lily

[Drew Schmidt]

My tank has 2 dwarf aquarium lilies. One of them the leaves stay close to the bulb the other all leaves try to reach the surface. I got these plants in April?.... I think... But anyway. Now that the tank is cooling off the leaves and roots have separated from the bulb that has leaves that reach to the surface. The other one has not shown any change in growth or decline since winter.  Is this normal? I want to reach down and squeeze the bulb to see if it's soft but I'm afraid to disturb it and uproot what ever roots might be in the substrate.  What would you guys do? 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I would be patient. Bulbs have a mind of their own. The separation you discussed is quite common and is one of it's ways of reproducing like a runner. You could pull it and replant it in another tank. Lilly bulbs will go dormant when conditions aren't right, but sometimes they will continue despite not having the optimal temp or conditions. Obviously you have one really happy bulb and one that doesn't want to do it's thing. I often will place a root tab under the bulb if I want it to have a better growth rate or break it from dormancy. Example: mine went dormant in the summer because of air conditioning use, so I put a root tab in and raised the heater a couple degrees and boom lily pads galore. 

[Patrick_G]

I’d also give it some time. Both the of these were planted at the same time in spring 2021.  I’m not worried about the small one. I might put a root tab under it, but if it goes dormant it’s ok. 

[Drew Schmidt]

Thanks for the replies.  I'll give it a few months and see what happens