New Which Water Lilies to Grow in Your Pond

As far as I am concerned the Water Lily is the queen of aquatic plants. Nearly every one that has a pond has a Lily or wants one. The worth of this hardy Water Lily lies not only in the wonder of it's cup-shaped or star-shaped flower but also within the round or heart shaped leaves (pads) which not only do they keep the fish happy but they help to maintain the water clear as well.
I believe it is a fascinating plant that has a number of surprises for every one of us and an equal quantity of pitfalls for the novice. The initial surprise for the newbie is the vast range of flower sizes, leaf sizes, leaf spread and planting depth required. The dwarf varieties (minatures) with 1" wide leaves covering about 1 sq.ft of pond surface and bearing medal-sized flowers are a great choice for the minipond made from a half-barrel. On the other end of the scale there are the Viogrous varieties with leaves measuring greater than 8" across whch, and if left alone, will blanket a pond of 50 sq.ft or more and produce flowers the scale of dinner plates.
The golden rule is never to buy a Water Lily simply because the picture looks nice and also it costs lower than the others on show. You should measure your pond surface and then aim to purchase a number of specimens with an anticipated spread of no more than half of the pond surface. Never be guided by the price. Those that are far too vigarous for the average size pond actually cost less than the more compact ones which tend not to look good value for money because of thier size.
To make selection easier it really is better to group Water Lilies into a tiny number of types. Dwarf, Medium and Vigorous. All you have to do is to choose the type with the right planting depth and also the anticipated spread to your needs and then find a variety within that group which has a shape and colour that you find attractive. Time of flowering won't come in to the choice because all Water Lilies behave more or less the same. Blooming starts in June and then the flowers appear in succession until September. Each bloom opens from late morning to late afternoon and lasts for roughly 4 days.
Now for one of the surprises. A lot of the scores of varieties on offer today came from the breeding work of a Frenchman who lived the name of M. Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac. The first one appeared in 1877 but unfortunately his secrets died with him in 1911. For this reason, the majority of the Water Lily varieties in the catalogues are in excess of 80 years old. I an happy to say that new American varieties are actually starting to appear on the market, but Latour-Marliac hybrids still continue to dominate.
Now for the planting rules. May and June are the perfect months for planting and you'll need a sunny spot and still water . Take off the old leaves from the rootstock and trim back the firous roots. Plant firmly so that the crown is just protruding above the surface. Submerge the basket so the young leaves float at the surface and gradually lower the basket to the ultimate depth as the leaves grow. This will likely take several months to achieve.
Once you've stocked your pond with plants, leave it for a month befor introducing any fish. Don't just tip the fish in as soon as you get them home. Place the polythene bag in the pond and leave it for an hour. After an hour gently open the bag and add some pond water to it. Leave the bag in the pond for an extra 10 minutes. The final stage is to tip the fish in to their new home. Don't worry if the fish hide amid the foliage for a few days, this is quite normal behavior. Leave them alone and what ever you do, don't attempt to coax them out.