Tips for my first aquatic plant

I’ve never grown an aquatic plant. I’m very interested in Egyptian blue water lily for its beauty and…uh…another reason. I hear water lilies are good for beginners. The balcony gets a lot of sunlight, which this plant likes.

Is this article good? Any permie alterations to this method?

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/landscaping-projects/water-gardens/growing-water-lilies/#toc-where-to-plant-water-lilies

Any links to better articles or permies threads?

Should I buy a rhizome online or get seeds?

Im still very new to gardening and this sounds like an exciting step forward from my square foot garden bed. If for some reason this plant is not ideal, I’d still like to try another aquatic plant.

I'm not sure but I think there are winter hardy water lilies and more tropical types. I have a small garden pond about three feet deep and yellow and pink varieties that grow there very well. They are completely hardy even in the coldest weather where the surface freezes to six inches thick, which actually hasn't happened for a long time.

Years ago, I went through the "want they need" thing, planting in pots with clay soil and all that stuff. Turns out they don't need anything other than the water and maybe some fertilizer, but I think my fish help feed them by pooping, also rotting leaves that fall in. About every two years they are so overgrown that I have to pull them all out and just put back a couple sections of the big rhizome, if that's the proper term for it. I just tie it to a rock or piece of a brick to help it sink and in a couple weeks the leaves and flowers are back on top of the water.

They always did well but when my big ash trees died and exposed them to full sun they just exploded. I can't even see the water, or the fish. If I remember right, I got them as little bitty stubs from Lowes.

Nice to know it wasn’t that much work for you. Yeah, they seem classify them that way(winter hardy, tropical). This one is definitely not looking winter hardy….I mean, it’s got Egyptian in the name.

I just checked my email and saw a permies email linking to another thread on lilies where it was recommended to take a bucket of healthy pond water and fill the pot with that. Sounds like like a good idea. So that could be part of my inoculation.

Water lily project

How do guys feel about these aquatic fertilizers? I know nothing about them. Could I just keep dumping pond water in every so often?

Some info on Egyptian blue water lilies

I thought I read somewhere that water temp might be a concern. Maybe it’ll be too cold at night in Michigan even in summer?

How exciting and congratulations on your new venture! Personally I’ve found that water hyacinth and hornwort grow like crazy. Zone 9b.

Thank you. Here the low in summer is historically around 60F, which is also the lowest the temperature the article I linked to in the first post says is the minimum for tropical water lilies. So maybe I’m pushing it.

This video seems easy to follow. He says to get NPK 19-19-19 and put it in the bottom to grow faster. I’m unfamiliar with these fertilizers. Is this safe to use? Any issues with his method?

I bought seeds of Egyptian blue water lily, Egyptian white water lily, and sacred(pink) lotus. I typically have little interest in ornamentals(especially hard to get, from a very different climate) but these plants mean a lot more to me than just something to look at.

I’ve never added fertilizer to anything. Is this necessary? Am I mistaken for thinking permie people don’t usually do this? Even in aquatic plants?

Kimberly, I think you’ve got a much better climate for what I’m up to. Thanks for the encouragement.

Adding fertilizer isn't totally necessary, but it can be helpful if you're finding that your plants aren't thriving. It's worth a try!

Thank you John.

I planted them from seed.  I’ll update with photos. I put three pots of topsoil mixed with sand in a big tub. I haven’t filled the tub completely yet, but I keep the pots covered with a thin layer of water, as per the instructions on one of them.

I’m reading more on maintenance and quite often there is someone saying “you don’t need to do that” or “just do [x] instead” ….you know, typical internet. In particular, I’m still a bit confused on changing the water and feeding the water.

I see people saying change half(or 1/3) the water every week, and others seem way more laid back(although I think some people are confusing pond advice with tub/pot advice).

Is changing the water enough, or do I need to feed it something to keep it from getting gross?

All the pots have at least one growie coming up. I put three seeds in each pot. Sacred lotus is on the left, white Egyptian water lily center, and blue Egyptian water lily on the right.

I scooped out a bunch of water and replaced some. I keep adding water slowly every time I water other plants or when the aquatic pots need it. I got a little net and some “water ferns”(I forget the proper name) today. Scooped out some icky globs, then added the ferns. From what I’ve read, the shade they provide will help keep the algae down. Since I didn’t put the water ferns inside any of the pots, the lilies still have full sunlight(which they love apparently).

The soil is simply topsoil mixed with sand. Growth does seem kind of slow, should I add something? If so, what? I think one of the blue water lilies died. I may put in another seed or two.

I’m not thrilled about this plastic tub either. Since I do plan on fully submerging the pots eventually…but maybe I just won’t. I suppose the leaves will soak up the plasticy water though. I would like to harvest the leaves, so toxic stuff is of some concern. But I also don’t want to be paranoid about this stuff.