Water Lilies

It's time to expand my container garden to water plants. Home Depot is filled with bulbs and roots for purchase and I picked up two varieties of water lilies (each $9.95). One is a deep fushia blossom, the other is a delicate white-pink blossom. I'll be honest, the chance I will actually get them to flower is going to be rare. I'm just hoping for some healthy foliage to start with. I'm starting them off at 3 inches below water, which I read will help the leaves grow quickly. I did some more research, and unfortunately though, these two breeds will most likely require 12 inches of water depth! I'm trying to imagine how big of a pot I will have to get to achieve that. The lilies come with netted bottoms to help them stand and protect them from koi if you plant them with fish.

First "planted", or should I say submerged on February 26, 2010.


Straight out of the container.


Submerged at 3 inches.


After just 1 week the leaves reach the surface!



After 2 weeks, more leaves are on their way!


After less than a month, they've already outgrown the pot. I've moved them into a temporary home (one of those giant plastic containers). When mature, they'll need to be submerged 12 inches below the surface! I already notice little worms swimming around the water. Guess I will have to get some gold fish to control the problem. This is turning out to be a pretty big endeavor!


As of March 19, one snail and two goldfish later, the water lilies have developed their own eco system! Unfortunately, that means an algae outbreak which is why its got that greenish soup look. The two goldfish can be seen in the top left hand corner. The two plants are definitely different breeds as you can see from the shape and size of the leaves.