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Hi. Can anyone give advice on planting water lilies in a lake? I have an area near my boat house that I was thinking that water lilies would look great.

Anyone have any luck with this?

Thanks in advance.

Mike,

Is this a private lake? May not be legal.


Eric

Thanks Eric - I didn't even think of that. It's not a private lake.

I guess I need to find out if it is allowed or not.


Thanks again.

OK, now that the legal issue has been discussed --

I think whether you could grow waterlilies there will depend on the depth of the water. Different species have different optimum water depths. I believe Lotus can handle deeper waters than waterlilies. Also, I'm pretty sure they both need a relatively still water, so I'm not entirely sure a location near a boathouse would be suitable.

Thanks applestar. It would actually be near the bank of the boat house. The depth is no more than 3 feet deep, so I think water lilies would be fine.

I have two concerns - 1.) If it is legal to plant

2.) How easy is it to keep them from over taking the lake?

I've been reading up on them, and it seems like they can be invasive.

Found out there are no restrictions on planting in the lake, as long as the plant is not invasive and "take over". Also found this great website -

[url]https://texaswaterlilies.com/[/url]

I called them and spoke to a sales person who gave recommendations on non invasive water lilies. They were very helpful.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

whats the best grow medium for iris and lilies?

I don't know about the Iris but the water lilies need a heavier clay soil. I lined the bottom of the pot with coffee filters then planted with clay soil. I covered the top of the soil with gravel to help keep the dirt from washing out.

Is The clay just to hold them in place? Could possibly a sand/gravel mix be used if plenty of nutrients are in the water?

The sand would just wash out of the pots. I got my planting instructions on-line at a water lily site and, since my soil is clay, it was easy for me to do. the site said to just use garden type soil. My lilies did extremely well.

Awesome, ill check into the clay, Thanks for the reply. I can see the clay not hurting anything living since most fish,frogs,turtles. live in or near clay and mud. Just one last question, how bad does the clay murk the water up? If at all.