Nymphaea Bagdad | Blue Tropical Water Lily

Sky-blue flowers over mottled pads. Nymphaea 'Bagdad' is a tropical water lily that opens star-shaped blooms in pale blue to light violet with a glowing yellow center, held above leaves marked with purple-maroon mottling. It flowers freely through the season and carries a light sweet scent.

What You'll Receive

• One young sprouted tuber, ready to pot and grow on

Plant Profile

• Common name — Bagdad Blue Tropical Water Lily
• Scientific name — Nymphaea 'Bagdad'
• Type — Tropical water lily, day-blooming
• Flower — Sky-blue to light violet, star-shaped, yellow center, lightly fragrant
• Foliage — Green pads with purple-maroon mottling
• Placement — Pond, tub or container water garden, or a tank of 20 gallons and up; centerpiece
• Water depth — 6 to 18 inches over the crown
• Spread — Suits medium to large ponds and half-barrels
• Growth rate — Fast in warm water

Care

• Difficulty — Beginner
• Sunlight — Full sun. Six hours or more, or it will not flower properly
• Water — 72–82°F · pH 6.0–7.5. It wants genuine warmth
• Substrate — Heavy clay-based soil or aquatic planting medium in a basket
• Planting angle — Tropical tuber: straight up at 90°, crown level with the soil
• Feeding — Water lily fertilizer tablets monthly through the growing season
• Overwintering — Tropical. Lift and store the tuber indoors somewhere moist over winter unless your climate stays warm
• Propagation — Tuber and rhizome division

Grower's Notes

• Tropical means it will not survive a freeze. Unlike a hardy lily, this one cannot be left in a pond that ices over. Lift the tuber in autumn and keep it moist and frost-free indoors, or treat it as an annual. Getting this wrong is the usual way a tropical lily is lost.
• Full sun is not negotiable. In part shade it produces leaves and few or no flowers, which is the most common disappointment with water lilies generally.
• Indoors the light bar does not move. 'Bagdad' grows well in an aquarium of 20 gallons or more, but the sky-blue flowers need light near daylight intensity across a long photoperiod — under a standard aquarium fixture you get the purple-mottled pads and no bloom. Those pads come on quickly in warm water and need thinning on a regular schedule to stop the tank going dark underneath.
• Plant into heavy clay soil in a basket rather than loose compost — light media float out and cloud the pond.
• Feed monthly in the growing season. Lilies are heavy feeders and flowering falls away quickly without tablets.
• The mottled pads carry interest even between flushes of bloom, which not every lily offers.

New to planting water lilies? Read our complete Water Lily Planting Guide — tuber angle, soil, depth and the one mistake that kills most first lilies.

Notes

• We don't ship dormant roots. Your tuber arrives fresh and actively growing with 1–2 young leaves already emerged — visible proof it's viable before it leaves us. Young pads may start fully submerged and will reach the surface within about a week in good light.
• Photos are representative. Bloom color and size vary with sunlight, feeding and water temperature.
• Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.

At a glance

• Free shipping on orders of $150 or more (after discounts) within the contiguous United States, by USPS.
• Free thermal protection is included with every shipment, all year round.
• Processing: most orders leave us within 1 to 2 business days. Tracking is emailed when your order ships.
• USPS (2 to 5 business days) ships Monday through Saturday.
• UPS 2nd Day Air® ships Monday through Wednesday. Order by Tuesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time for same-week delivery.
• UPS Next Day Air® ships Monday through Thursday. Order by Wednesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time for same-week delivery.
• Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and military addresses ship by USPS at a flat rate shown at checkout.
• Weather holds: during extreme heat or cold we may hold live orders until it's safe to ship.
• We ship within the United States only.

Please bring live plants indoors and unpack them the day they arrive. Every live order is covered by our 24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee.

The complete rules, including lost packages and address issues, are in our Shipping Policy. If anything conflicts, that policy applies.

Every live order is backed by our 24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee. If a plant arrives dead, we'll make it right.

How it works

• Tell us within 24 hours of the delivery time on your tracking.
• Send photos of the affected items in their original, unopened packaging, plus a photo of the shipping label, to hello@aquariumplantsfactory.com with your order number.
• We'll make it right with a replacement, store credit or refund for the affected item.

Good to know

• Some melting or yellowing as plants adjust from greenhouse to aquarium life is normal. They regrow from healthy roots and rhizomes.
• Please bring your package indoors and unpack it the day it arrives.
• Free promotional items and shipping charges are not covered.

The complete rules, including what's covered and what voids the guarantee, are in our Returns, Refunds & Live Arrival Guarantee. If anything conflicts, that policy applies.

Please review your state's regulations on restricted plants, as we are committed to not shipping plants that are restricted in your area. Do not release any plants into the wild or waterways, as this can harm local ecosystems by introducing invasive species.

Your cooperation in protecting the environment is appreciated. For continuously updated information, refer to the USDA State Noxious Weed list here.

Thank you for your responsible commitment to environmental preservation.