Avoiding Mistakes
Planting Your Water Lily Pool
After the pool is completed, many a water lily gardener's first action is to cover the floor with a 5- to 6-inch layer of earth. Having thus "simulated a natural environment," as he thinks he should, he then proceeds to plant -- and to wonder thereafter why his water lilies do not do as well as the ones next door. Here are some useful steps to avoiding such mistakes.
Planting on the Pool Floor
I can not imagine why so many water lily gardeners persist in planting directly onto the floor of a deep pool or even in permanent built-in boxes. There is not a dealer who recommends it. It creates muddy, awkward maintenance work and, furthermore, does not get the water lilies off to a good start. In either case, it is necessary to plant the pool while it is empty and then add the water. This is risky business, since water lilies are shipped after growth has started and plants can easily be rendered inactive again by severe shock. Water fed into a pool from a household tap is cold enough to give many species just such a stunting shock. Plants will recover but perhaps not until well along in the season.
The alternative is adding enough water to cover the crowns of the plants only an inch or so. In the course of a day the sun will warm the shallow water and the probability of shock be greatly reduced. In a few days, a few more inches of water can be added until the pool is full. This procedure is usually safe enough but slow and tedious.
Planting in Movable Receptacles
Planting water lilies in one of the many kinds of movable receptacles has obvious advantages. Most importantly, it enables a gardener to clean out his pool as early as he likes in spring, fill it with fresh water and letting it warm under the sun until planting time. You will have a cleaner, healthier pool if you prop up all planting receptacles a few inches from the floor. It is easy, with a clear floor, to rake and pull out leaves and twigs that fall and accumulate on the floor. This will prevent decomposition and eventual fouling of the water. Propped-up boxes also give goldfish a lot more freedom and provide much needed shade in hot summer weather.
Cigarette lighters, rings, keys, etc., do get dropped into pools from time to time. You may have to get into your pool one day to retrieve something of the sort. You can kill a water lily quite easily by stepping on the root but you can wade among them safely enough if the roots are confined in containers.