Water Lily, to drown or not to drown....

[tbendl]

I have read as much water lily posts as I can digest and what I can't figure out is how deep do I plant these guys? I have 1 that I need to pot today in kitty litter in an oil pan with osmocote in the bottom, (that seems to work for most) but what I can't figure out is the depth?
Also for other plants, do I just do kitty litter or should I add some osmocote to those pots as well. Right now I'm talking corkscrew rush, and some long grasses.

 

[timvz]

I've planted Lillys in 9" deep pots and 26" deep water. That means the top of the rhizome is only about 1.5 feet from the surface. They grew fine for me. What ends up happening is the stalks just spread out at a higher angle as they grow. I've heard that Lillys should be planted deeper, but I'm not sure why. Maybe its for asthetics, but I thought mine looked really nice.

 

[tbendl]

So completely underwater, lily pads and all? If I googled correctly the rhizome is basically the section where the tuber meets the roots. If I get any dumber, I may drown trying to plant these things...

 

[sissy]

the more sunlight they get in summer the more they grow but in the winter they have to be dropped down below where it freezes .I have mine in the lotus lily pond which is only 18 inches deep but have them planted 6 inches down ,I will move them to the basement come winter because that will not be deep enough

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I plant all of my plants in dirt, since I had a bunch left over from digging the pond. As for depths, most of mine are set on a 2' deep shelf. I have two that are growing shallow too; about 4"-6" and they are doing just as well. Most people tend to say between 1'-3', some grow them slightly deeper, some shallower.


If your plant already has lily pads, there is no problem with planting it deeper than the current lily pad height because the pads will grow right up to the surface very quickly, plus the plant will continue to grow new pads constantly.

 

[tbendl]

That answers my question, so ideally the lily's should be at or below water level. And sissy, since I don't get a freeze, I wonder if I should drop them during the winder as well. Probably wouldn't hurt I guess. Thanks JBtheExplorer.

 

[steve/gridnot]

I have some 6 feet deep and some at a 2 feet. Just don't freeze the base. Deeper ones take longer to surface in the Spring

 

[addy1]

Not at water level, they need to be below water level (the tuber) at least 6 inches, the leaves like to float at the end of their stems.

 

[CometKeith]

My water lilies are 3-4 ft deep and grow great. I don't move them in the winter and they are fine for the next year. The pads figure out how long of a stem to grow to get them to rest on the top of the water. If you put them this deep the pads will spread out and the flowers will grow straight up. My frogs like to sit on top of the pads and it's like they are on a little water raft!

 

[tbendl]

Ok I got it now. I'm lowering them tonight. Awe CometKeith, I hope my frogs do the same. I had thought about doing a floating island with flowers for the frogs to be able to have a place to hang out but then had a vision of coming home to my cat Calvin stranded on that floating island after jumping on it to catch the frogs.
To be fair I'm still considering it, just because I think it would be hysterical if it happened.

 

[dieselplower]

What I do is put the whole this under water 6". She. The pads reach the surface, lower 6 more inches, until it's about 2.5 feet down.

 

[tbendl]

Does everyone use the osmocote for fertilizer in their lilies as well?

 

[timvz]

I'd never heard of osmocote before this thread, but I will probably try it with kitty litter next time I re-pot. I use fertilizer tabs right now. They are easy to push down into the soil when I fertilize. I pulverize and mix a few of them in the initial potting.

 

[tbendl]

Well I will let you know how it works, I got the idea from addy1 so it must work.

 

[addy1]

This summer has flown, we have not been around much, to be honest I have not groomed them, have not fertilized them and they are still blooming great. I just added the osmocote at the beginning of the season when I re-potted them.