Hello,

Hello Robyn and all fellow members. as you can see I'm a new member here :), I'm Roger!. I hope you guys do not mind if I ask a couple of questions so that I may grow my lilies beautifully.

I just repotted my lily, I planted 3 water lily in a 1 meter diameter pot. 1 pink day blooming lily(already flowering) and 2 white night blooming lily(leaves still small, yet to bloom). The pot originally were meant for lotus so it has a depth of about 4 inches. I just found out lilies need a good depth of 12 inches. Should I attempt to repot the lily and remove some dirt so that there will be more water depth? Are there any signs I should look for that tells me the plant needs more water depth?

Also, if I consider of repotting the lilies, would regular garden dirt from my back yard be a good medium(perhaps better than clay type?)? I want to give my lilies the best soil. Must it be clay type? Is beige clay type soil or dark brown garden soil better? I usually see lilies planted in beige colour soil, so I'm wondering if can they be successfully grown in dark brown garden soil. I hope you get what I mean.

Lastly, my lilies pads get regular holes on it, its red at the sides of the holes. Then later, part of the lily pads start to rot. What causes it? I checked, and there are no slugs or any insects. No fish is biting them.

I'm living in a tropical climate country.

I really appreciate some feedback or replies. Thank you!

The dirt depth in the pot is 4" or the water level above the top of the dirt is 4"? For most waterlilies, the dirt should be 6" deep or more. The depth of water over the top of the dirt (or pea gravel as I use this to cover the dirt) should be about a foot as you mentioned. Smaller lilies like it more shallow, and larger ones like it deeper. Waterlilies should be fine with only 4" of water over the top level in the pot. If they are larger lilies, they will have more trouble spreading out. Can you lower the pot in the pond or is that not an option? I pot up my lilies with the clay dirt in my yard and top off with pea gravel. Soils that are more brown (organic) than the reddish/orange/beige clay dirts have more nutrients in them. This may be beneficial for the lilies but it can also seep into the pond and feed algae. I use clay dirt and add lily fertilizer pills. If you use brown dirt, I would use less fertilizer and keep an eye out for escaping dirt. If such top soil gets into the pond, the algae will be grateful.

What do the holes look like? I have a page on plant pests and links to lily pests too at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/plants/plantpests.htm

I guessed you're in a tropical climate since you're repotting and growing lilies now. Enjoy it!

Hi Robyn,

Thanks for the reply. I have another water lily which I submerge teh pot into my pond water. I repotted them a month ago. One of my lily leaves has been growing bigger since then, but they get regular holes on it.

Here is the pic of the lily(actually has 4 of them in it)


Any idea also when will it start flowering(the big one)? :D

Thanks Robyn.

The lilies have common pest damage. I'm not sure if it's from midges, snails, or beetle larvae in your case. You may be able to find the culprits under the leaves. The lilies look okay otherwise. If it's warm there, the lilies should flower within a few months of repotting. It takes time for them to recover. The less they were disturbed, the faster they'll probably rebloom.