How to grow a water lily in a basin or pond?

Are you planning to grow water lilies in your pond? Today, we’ll take a look at this group of aquatic plants from the Nymphaeaceae family. They are often found in lakes, ponds, and other bodies of water. It is quite a distinctive perennial plant: like irises, it grows from its rhizomes.

It is a plant prized for both its flowers and its large round leaves. Decorative, they can also serve as shelter for fish. The water lily needs to be permanently submerged in still water or in a very gentle current. There are several types of water lilies, notably the hardy water lily and the tropical water lily.

How to plant a water lily?

Depending on the climate and environment, water lilies will need a little attention. In the case of the hardy water lily, for example, it can be left outdoors during the winter (in a country like France).

It is therefore always wise to find out and learn about the ways to care for this plant. It is entirely possible to grow water lilies, provided you consider a few measures. Once these parameters are taken into account, you can expect a successful and healthy crop.

Finding a water lily that suits your pond

Before proceeding with the actual planting, it is advisable to consider the size and various parameters of the pond in question. Indeed, this data will help identify the treatments or actions to be taken to optimize the growth of the water lilies.

The ideal is therefore to ensure that the depth represents the distance between the surface, and even the surface of the substrate in which the rhizome is planted.

Choosing the right time and location to plant water lilies

As you might expect, the best alternative would be to find the ideal place to plant the water lilies. They can be planted in full sun for six to seven hours a day. This exposure notably guarantees maximum blooming of your plant.

At the same time, it is important to take into account the vegetation growing around. This will allow you, among other things, to match the colors and blooming times of the water lilies and other plants.

You can also consult our article on the best times to plant in an aquatic environment!

Choosing the container and substrate to plant a water lily

Clay soil is good for planting a water lily and will not disturb your water. This is simply because this type of soil is heavy.

If you have fish, it is preferable to place pebbles on the surface. This is so that the fish cannot root around in the soil. At the same time, avoid planting a water lily in a substrate that is too rich, or adding compost to it.

Finally, the young water lily can be grown at the bottom of a pond whose water level does not change too quickly during the year.

Knowing how to plant your water lily properly

In detail, the rhizome is planted obliquely in the soil. It has roots, leaves, and flowers. At the end of the rhizome, you will find the main bud. This will eventually produce the future leaves and flowers.

When you plant the water lily, take care to prevent it from being covered. It must be able to breathe perfectly. To help it, it is necessary to water the plant well before planting. This is a useful exercise that water lily growers often forget to put into practice.

Finally, it is advisable to fertilize the water lily with fertilizer. You can choose, for example, three fertilizer pellets such as the plant briquettesaquatic, which will be placed at the bottom of the container.

Providing quality care for your water lily

There are generally two methods for properly maintaining water lilies. If the water lily no longer blooms, or blooms little, it may be due to a lack of fertilizer or the need to divide it at the end.

Fertilizer pellets

That said, to really succeed in maintaining the water lily, remember to fertilize the soil beforehand. This fertilization is done every year, by incorporating Osmocote pellets into the substrate or growing medium. This notably helps prevent the fertilizer from ending up in the water.

Of course, using other fertilizer pellets is entirely possible. However, these pellets often need to be renewed every six to twelve weeks.

Dividing the rhizomes

Always with the aim of growing a water lily properly, you must know how to divide the rhizomes. This division is generally done once every 2 to 3 years. In detail, once the water lily is planted in a container, you will need to divide the rhizomes to ultimately rejuvenate them.

This action must be carried out when you notice that the leaves are emerging from the water. Indeed, the rhizome is divided simply by cutting it with a very sharp knife. You divide the rhizome over a distance between 5 cm and 7 cm, following its growth. Finally, when a rhizome does not have a crown or when it is dead, you must remove it immediately.

Helping a water lily recover from disease

As nature is, all plants experience times of disease. If these anomalies have always been obstacles to plant growth in general, the same is true for water lilies. And for good reason, several diseases contribute to its lack of growth.

To grow your water lilies successfully, you will need to protect them from diseases such as Ramularia nymphaearum. Among other conditions, this one is responsible for brown spots on the leaves.

At the same time, and logically, you should also avoid rot. It is a disease that begins with premature yellowing of the foliage. This yellowing will then be followed by the falling of the leaves.

Often neglected by growers, this disease can nevertheless kill the plant very easily. It is preferable to treat it quickly. The solution? The best treatment against these fungi is to opt for a product that works in two ways: preventively or curatively. Of course, the preventive method is always the most recommended!

This may interest you: we have written an article to help you treat nasturtium or nasturtium pectinatum.

Protecting the plants from insects

Insects are always harmful to plants. They find the opportunity to feed or play. But for a plant like the water lily, its growth is at risk if it is visited by insects. Indeed, their role is to pierce the leaves to suck the sap.

There are several insects that do this bad work. You have the black aphid that appears a little before summer. The water lily leaf beetle. It is a yellowish caterpillar that is easily identifiable. Its mission is to cut the edges of the water lily leaves and then hide underneath between the cut piece and the rest of the leaf.

All these pests can be controlled by using a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, which will subsequently destroy the cells of their intestine. Do not use phytosanitary products in the pond: they are toxic to fish and aquatic wildlife.

In short, the growth of a water lily depends on several measures that must be adopted. If you apply all the tips offered, it is possible to successfully grow your water lily. At the same time, you must not forget to keep an eye on the health of its pond, by analyzing the water regularly of it.