question about lillies

[cr8tivguy]

I purchased a lillie (hardy variety). It's about 4 inches long (rhizome) and it has probably 6 leaves on 8-10 inch stems. I keep reading about the lillie being planted 12-18 inches deep. At this depth, the lillie pads will be underwater and not floating on top.

Should I still submerge the lillie planter to 18 inches and force the leaves to grow more to reach the surface, or should I submerge the pot just deep enough to have the lillie pads float; then slowly lower it to the correct depth?
Tim

 

[koiguy1969]

YOU CAN START EVEN SHALLOWER THAN THAT...everytime the pads srface, lower it untill you hit the point you want... hint: you can actually go lower than you want to keep it. when the pads hit the surface, raise it up to where you want it. the longer stems will give it a larger surface spread of pads.
oh, wrong forum, this is an articles forum...there is an aquatic plants forum

 

[cr8tivguy]

Update
I found a guy in Omaha, NE that has a huge pond where he grows Lilies! He has probably 100 of them. He sells them for $20 for the larger ones and $10 for the smaller ones. I bought two larger ones-both are shooting up buds for flowers. I'm so excited to have them bloom and fill in on the surface of the pond. The fish are loving them!

He suggested dropping them in the deeper part-letting the stems/leaves grow to the surface; then moving the pots to shallower areas. This way the leaves will spread out over the surface more. One of the plants already touches the surface. The other one is about 8 inches below still. He said they will reach the surface in less than a week.

 

[Sunshine]

I bought a really small lily. I have it about 9 inches below the surface. The one pad it has is about an inch in diameter. I'll leave it there till Fall than lower it to the bottom for Winter.

 

[HTH]

I bought a really small lily. I have it about 9 inches below the surface. The one pad it has is about an inch in diameter. I'll leave it there till Fall than lower it to the bottom for Winter.

For a really small lily it works best to move them close to the surface until they have several nice green pads. Some die if you don't.