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How to Grow Water Lilies: Planting, Care & Winterizing

The water lily (Nymphaea) has enchanted humans for millennia. Once reserved for palaces, they now thrive in home gardens—tubs, ponds of any size, all USDA zones. They grow from tubers in pots beneath water, sending up floating leaves and star-shaped blossoms.

Hardy lilies are dependable, daytime bloomers (morning to sunset, 3–4 days per flower), colors except blue/purple, spring to fall. Dormant in winter; can stay in water or be stored. Tropical lilies offer larger, more prolific blooms, exotic colors (including night-bloomers), but need water above 70°F and winter tuber removal.

How to Plant Hardy Water Lilies

1. Container: Wide and shallow (12x18 inches wide, 6–10 inches deep). Line drainage holes with burlap to keep soil in.

2. Soil: Heavy garden soil, not fluffy potting mix. Avoid perlite, vermiculite, peat. Enrich with aquatic fertilizer pellets pushed into soil before planting.

3. Prepare tuber: Remove old leaves and thick roots. Keep emerging leaves, buds, and hairlike roots.

4. Plant: Place tuber against pot side, growing tip upward at ~45°, pointing toward center.

5. Top with gravel: Cover soil with rock or pea gravel to keep soil in pot.

6. Lower pot: Angle into pond to let air escape. Set base 12–18 inches deep. Support if pond deeper than 18 inches without ledges.

How to Winterize Hardy Water Lilies

Remove dead/dying foliage. If pond freezes solid or is drained: remove pot, store cool and moist in plastic bag. Or clean tuber, store in peat moss at 40–50°F. If pond doesn't freeze solid: lower pot to deepest part. In spring, return to proper level or repot stored tuber.