Lily planting questions in a pot pond

[Joshaeus]

'ello all! I have some questions on how to go about potting a water lily in a 24 inch pot pond:

1 - Should I put some dirt in the bottom and directly plant the lily in that, or should I plant the lily in a pot within the pot?
2 - Since this pond pot will not have anything that would be inclined to disturb the lily, should I bother putting a layer of gravel over the dirt?

Thankx for your quick replies!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

A 24" pot is awful small for a Water Lily' unless you can find a true dwarf variety and even that may be too large.

 

[Lisak1]

Your container is small for a lily. I would try a water poppy, or a white or yellow snowflake plant. The leaves look like tiny lily pads and the flowers stand up from the surface of the water. You can pot any of these in a small pot, in the substrate or allow them to float - they spread on the surface.

 

[Joshaeus]

Alright...but even with water snowflakes, the potting questions remain: Should they be directly in a layer of dirt in the pot or in their own pot within the pot? And should I bother putting a layer of gravel over the dirt if none of the fish are going to be actively digging in it?

 

[Lisak1]

Your choice - they can be planted directly in the substrate or in a pot. Mine are potted about 16 inches under the surface and do great. The pot itself is small but the plant will spread to form a circle 3-5 feet in diameter in my pond. The pot really just serves as an anchor so the plant stays in one spot. They are very easy to control and keep to size if you want to keep it smaller.

You say your container pond is 24 inches - is that diameter? Depth? What's the total size? How many gallons?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

if none of the fish are going to be actively digging in it?

What kind of fish are you putting in such a small container?

 

[Joshaeus]

The pot is 24 inches in diameter and holds about 19 gallons. The fish will likely be some sort of Maine native...nothing larger than 3 inches. Fathead minnows look fairly viable right now...definitely no goldfish.

 

[Lisak1]

Gotcha.