Planting Information for your Waterlilies
When you first receive your waterlily you should immediately unpack them and place them into a containers of water. This is to counteract any dehydration that may have taken place during transit.
To plant your new waterlily you should firstly obtain your planting crates, the larger the container you use the less maintenance you will need in the future. If the containers are open mesh baskets then these should then be lined with either nylon or sacking to stop the soil from leaching out of the pots. If the pots are solid then you are good to go.
Next you should have your soil ready, use either your own good quality top soil, without any additives or fertilizer, another good source of soil are mole or gopher hills, as these are very high quality and have no stones in the soil. You should avoid various Aquatic Soils as they generally are not as good as your own top soil. The best soil for your pond is a heavy loam type.
Fill your container nearly to the surface with soil and then dig a small trench in the soil for the roots, place your waterlily so the rhizome (the thick stem) is horizontal to the soil and the growing point (where the leaves and flowers emerge) should be pointed into the center of the pot, then place the roots in the trench. Fill up with soil so that only the top of the rhizome is showing plus any leaf or flower stems. Place pea gravel over the soil and gently press down.
Once this is done then you are ready to place your waterlily into your pond. The planting depth depends on the variety you have purchased . If you feel that the waterlily is too small to go to the maximum depth allowed by the variety then you can always use an upside down pot and stand the waterlily temporarily on this until it is growing well, then lower when the plant is established, approximately 2-3 weeks.
Hardy Waterlilies are just that, winter hardy so they need no maintenance through the winter months, as long as they are deeper than the depth of ice they will survive the winter with no problems.
