How to choose the right Waterlily for your pond.
Deciding upon a waterlily is an investment, they are not cheap plants and you need to choose the right one for your situation.
Firstly you should decide on what color you wish. In hardy waterlilies there are four main colors, White, Yellow, Pink and Red. At this moment there are no hardy blue waterlilies or purple.
When you have chosen the basic color that you want in your pond then the next important information is the depth of water that you wish your waterlily to grow in. There are 5 main sizes in waterlilies:-
Pygmaea - These waterlilies are tiny, they only take up to 6" of water over the soil and the flowers are approximately 1"-2" across with leaves up to 4" across. These waterlilies are ideal for patio tubs or ponds with shelves.
Small - Small waterlilies are just that they require up to 12" of water over the soil and flowers are up to 4" across, these waterlilies are ideal for small ponds.
Medium Small - These waterlilies fit into neither the medium range or the small, they require up to 15" of water over the soil and the flowers reach about 4" across with leaves usually over 6".
Medium - This is the most populous range of waterlilies. They tend to have flowers about 6" across with leaves over 8". They will tollerate 18"-24" of water over the soil and therefore are suitable for most peoples ponds.
Medium Large - These waterlilies are getting large with leaves usually around 12" plus and flowers easily 7"+. They will take water up to 30" deep over the soil and spread easily to 3ft diameter.
Large - These waterlilies are ideal for large ponds and natural lakes, in ponds they need to be planted with around 36" of water over the soil and will have flowers up to 12" across and leaves that can get up to 18".
All of the above planting depths are for waterlilies planted into containers. If you have natural soil based ponds then you can easily plant the waterlilies in the shallow edge of the pond and head them out into deep water. Waterliles when growing naturally will obtain much deeper depths then when planted into containers, this is because for each waterlily head the root system can spread out 3 feet in each direction, therefore getting more food to the plant. When waterlilies are growing in artificial areas such as ponds with planting containers they are limited to the soil that is provided. As this is the case waterlilies will in effect become bonsai plants, reducing their natural growth instinct and only growing as much as the available nutrients will allow. This means that you can over many years reduce a very large waterlily almost down to a miniature, but give it more nutrients and it will start to grow back into the plant it once was.
