Water Lily Advice Wanted

[jgell]

I want to enlarge my water lily beds to roughly the sizes outlined in the picture. I also want to do this right the first time so I’m drawing on your expertise as I plan this. So here are my preliminary thoughts and questions:
1. What is the best depth for water lilies? The shelves in these areas range from 12”-20”. I can build up to make them more shallow but I can’t go deeper so hopefully the answer to my question is less than 20”.
2. What substrate works best? I have read on here pure clay kitty litter is the way to go. Anything mixed with it?
3. What depth of substrate?
4. Pots or not? I was thinking of building up the perimeter of each area with rocks and then lining the area with pond liner or geotextile to make it like one large pot.
5. Can you mix varieties in one area or will one variety ultimately outcompete the others?
6. What else haven’t I thought of that I should know?

Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your responses.

 

[Tula]

I'm sure it will be beautiful, but will it take up space in your pond? I ask as koi need plenty of room.

 

[jgell]

The number of koi in my pond has been reduced since I took this picture. Some went back to the 1/2 acre farm pond they came from. There are lilies, very thick bunches, in that farm pond. Often I would paddle the boat past those bunches and the whole thing would start to shake and then a koi would bolt out from underneath the lilies. I’m hoping the trade off of lost space for more hiding places and shade is a net benefit for the koi.

 

[netvine]

flat pots like car oil trays or cat litter boxes would enable you to lift em up for when you need to work on them. Special kitty from walmart. The clay unscented



People use this a lot. I have also seen on here people have luck with just straight pea gravel too. I use the special kitty with pea gravel layer on top with goldfish. I hear koi like to really dig around in there. You may need to make a barrier with large rocks or plastic fencing to keep them out.For fertilizer check out osmocote or pond tabs.

check out this video

 

[addy1]

I have my lilies in oil pans. I also have a 1000 gallon pond with them running free. In two years they have taken over the bottom of that pond with huge tubers. I have had them jump their pot in the big pond, they get so heavy it is hard to pull them out.

The free ones don't get fertilized at all, the potted ones get groomed once a year of so and fertilized.

Mine are 12 inches to 36 inches deep, they are happiest with 24 inches or shallower.

If you set them free they will grow out of the area. you will need to get in the pond to cut off the tubers or they will fill your pond bottom.

 

[Mgessert]

Mine are in dish pans, in sand, under about 24” of water. I don’t fertilize them, other than feeding the fish, who feed the plants.

 

[Tula]

I too use oil pans. This will be my first season without koi, so will have to make an effort to fertilize them. Last fall I created a couple rock benches to raise the lilies higher to the water's surface.