Water lily water depth?

[Joshaeus]

Hi everyone! I understand that when a water lily is first introduced to a pond, they are best kept about 6 inches from the surface to help them get established; however, how much water depth do they need to bloom well after they are established? I want to have one or two 40 gallon tuff stuff trough ponds next year, and while they have a much larger surface area than the round utility tub pond I have this year, they are only 13 inches deep. I think my Indiana water lily will be fine in such a situation (especially since it will give me more space for a planter...the plant appears to be underpotted this year), but I REALLY wanted to try keeping a violicious water lily in the second container pond (and they are definitely 'medium' rather than 'dwarf'). Thanks

 

[addy1]

I have a few blooming great, the surface is only around 7 or so inches below the water level. I have another that is too shallow, the leaves end up growing up and out of the water.

 

[Jhn]

Have violicious as well,( just got it this spring) it is in about 18 inches of water and does fine, putting up a lot of pads and has put up a few blooms also. The crown is about a foot under water with the pot.

 

[Joshaeus]

I have a few blooming great, the surface is only around 7 or so inches below the water level. I have another that is too shallow, the leaves end up growing up and out of the water.

Cool! Clearly water depth is not a major issue for Violicious. I am curious...do they come up at the same time (and go dormant with) the other hardy lilies? I understand that at least some ISG lilies go dormant below 70 degrees and only start actively growing above that temperature.

 

[Lisak1]

A bigger concern might be if there's enough surface area for a lily to spread out in a 40 gallon container. I mean, maybe you don't care about that, but you may not get to take advantage of the full beauty of a lily that's meant to spread 4 feet or 5 feet if it's in a small container.

 

[Joshaeus]

A bigger concern might be if there's enough surface area for a lily to spread out in a 40 gallon container. I mean, maybe you don't care about that, but you may not get to take advantage of the full beauty of a lily that's meant to spread 4 feet or 5 feet if it's in a small container.

True...