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Took some pics to try to get the color right - still not there but closer than others I've taken. It is very difficult for me to capture the subtle light blue ..... U. nephrophylla x U. reniformis - 1st of my seedlings to flower (& nowhere near the largest) The mother .... The father ... For comparison, here's a previously-posted pic of U. nephrophylla x U. nelumbifolia

Hi, could anybody advise on how to care for my Utrics properly through the winter. They were all bought this year so it's the 1st winter and I'm not too sure what's the best conditions for them. should I expect/encourage dormancy? In particular I'm not too sure what to do with U longifolia (I read somewhere it should dry out and rest through the winter), U alpina (also read it should dry out), U nelumbifolia & finally U quelchii x humboldtii. I divided the longifolia bought earlier in the year so some are in LFS/perlite others in peat/sand currently quite wet but not standing in water. They're in a greenhouse that I'm hoping to keep above freezing. Some are in heated propogators (set at 15C) whilst others are just on the greenhouse staging with bubble wrap over them. I took a couple more inside (central heated but covered for humidity). U alpina, in LFS, again in the heated propogator in the greenhouse. I have T5 lights coming on for an hour in the morning and 3 hours in the evening, just daylight for the rest of the day. Total including daylight = 13.5 hours. U nelumbifolia & U quelchii x humboldtii, in LFS, under T5 lights (as alpina above), nelumbifolia is in 2 inches of water, quelchii x humboldtii moist but not stood in water, both in the heated propogator. I noticed the nelumbifolia leaves have started going quite pale over the last week or so. U quelchii x humboldtii is a recent acquisition and has thrown up 3 new leaves in the last couple of weeks. Sorry a lot of details there. Do you think my conditions are OK or is there something else I could try, also is how I keep them through the winter likely to encourage/discourage flowering next year. Hope you can help. Many thanks for any help offered. Regards Gaz