PLANTING YOUR POND PLANTS 

The first thing you should do is keep the plants wet and out of the sunlight.  Float the plants in the pond or put them in trays of pond water in the shade. The soil that you use can be out of your flower or vegetable garden. Heavy soil with some clay base is good to use. Stay away from commercial potting soils as they are too light and will float out of the pot.

Use any pot that you have for planting your water plants. If the pots have holes in them, line the bottom of the pot with burlap, newspaper, or some other heavy-fibered material. Most bog plants will work in 2 to 3 gallon pots. Lilies do best if they have more room ~ preferring 3 to 5 gallon pots.

To prepare the soil, mix the soil with water from the pond to make a nice thick mud. Then fill the pot to about 2" from the top with your mud mix. Newly potted plants can be placed at shallow depths until they become established. Also, keep lilies away from waterfalls and fountains, as they like still water. Next, follow the specific directions for the type of water plant that you are planting.

PLANTING HARDY WATER LILIES

Place the tuber at a 45 degree angle with the non-growing end against the side of the pot. Add several fertilizer tablets right in front of the crown (growing end) of the tuber. Lilies are heavy feeders and should be fertilized once a month after planting. Be careful that the fertilizer is not touching the roots, as this will burn them. Press the soil around the roots being careful not to cover the crown of the plant. Add a layer or gravel over the soil, again being careful not to cover the crown. It is better to plant lilies too high than to plant them too deep. It is recommended that you use gravel that is at least 1/2 " in diameter. Gravel keeps the fish from digging into the soil. Hardy lilies go to the bottom of the pond 18" to 30" deep.

PLANTING TROPICAL WATER LILIES

Make a mound of mud in the middle of the pot and push several fertilizer tablets into the mud around the sides of the mound. Tropical lilies should be fertilized at monthly intervals. Place the lily in the middle of the pot and let the roots go down over the mound. Add mud to about 1" below the crown of the plant, and then add gravel up to the crown. Be careful not to cover the crown. Tropical lilies go to the bottom of the pond 18" to 30" deep.

PLANTING BOG PLANTS

Plant these as you would tropical lilies, again making sure that you dont cover the crown of the plant. Bog plants should only be in water deep enough to cover the pot.

PLANTING WATER LOTUS

It is recommended that you float your lotus tuber in aged pond water in a warm, sunny place before planting. This allows the tuber to sprout and will increase you success in growing lotus. When your lotus is ready to plant, fill up your 5 to 10 gallon pot with 6" of mud and then place the lotus tuber with the growing tips straight upwards. Gently press the tuber into the mud being very careful not to damage the growing tips. Add a thin layer of gravel to cover the tuber and to keep the tuber from floating. Lotus are heavy feeders but should not be fertilized until they have up to two or three leaves. After they have set leaves they should be given 1 or 2 fertilizer tablets per gallon of soil.