Hopefully the sun will return soon. Do you need more waterlilies to add extra surface cover to your pond?

Now is a good time to add waterlilies of the correct size to your pond.

Waterlilies are the favourite surface cover plants for a pond:

• They have leaf spread and colourful flowers in Summer.
• The aim is to cover half to two thirds of the pond water surface in Summer with plant leaf growth.
• This keeps the water cooler and shaded below the surface to help avoid blanketweed and algae.
• Choose the size of waterlily that will achieve this spread in your pond in about 3 years.

Another plant that will give surface cover over the pond over time is Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae):

• These are sent as 3 barerooted plantlets that float freely on the water surface and rise and fall with the water temperature.
• They drop to the base of the pond in Winter as dormant buds that look like apple pips.
• They are slow to spread in their first year but multiply well over time.

More details about Waterlily Size and Spread:

• Water lilies are available in sizes from Miniature for container ponds or Butler sinks through to large Pond waterlilies for big surface area ponds.
• All waterlilies are sent rooted in a mesh basket & aquatic soil.
• Miniature and Dwarf waterlilies are sent in 11cm /4” baskets, Pond waterlilies are sent rooted in 2 sizes of basket - 15cm/6" and 23cm/9" across.

The Miniature waterlilies are only suitable for a barrel pond or a very small pond. The whole plant may only reach 15cm/6inches across - the size of a side plate.

• Each leaf and flower only reaches 3cm(1 inch) wide.

Dwarf waterlilies are slightly larger in spread across the pond surface with each leaf around 6cm(2 inches) wide.

• Aurora is the smallest and almost like a Miniature.

The larger Pond waterlilies in 23cm baskets can have a single leaf 9-11cm/3-4'" wide.

• The medium Pond waterlilies in 15cm baskets are smaller in size of leaf and plant spread.
• There is only one British Native waterlily - Nymphaea alba. This is a white waterlily and one plant can spread up to 2m across.
• The medium pond white waterlily for a pond not large enough for a British Native waterlily is Nymphaea odorata alba.

Medium Pond size:

Large Pond  size:

More detail on Waterlily Water Depths:

• Each size of waterlily will grow in a different depth of water so make sure you take this into account when choosing which variety you want.
• All waterlilies need to have the top of the basket placed below the potential ice level of the water by Winter.
• Miniatures can ony have a maximum 15cm(6 inches) of water over the top of the 11cm/4inch basket.
• Dwarf waterlilies will accept 25cm/10 inches of water over the 11cm/4inch basket.
• Pond waterlilies are in 2 categories - those with under the image (Medium) are less vigorous in spread and grow with  35-60cm/14-24inches of water over the 15cm/6inch basket. Large water lilies showing   under the image can, eventually, reach a metre deep.

Additional Feed for additional growth:

• Waterlilies will benefit from being fed twice a year. Once in early Spring and again mid-Summer.
• Choose the XL Aquatic feed ball for larger waterlilies sent in 23cm/9inch round baskets - 1 each feed.
• Use one Feed balls for Aquatic plants for smaller waterlilies sent in 11cm square baskets - 1 each feed.
• You can also use these smaller feed balls in all your other flowering Pond Plants in 11cm baskets.
• Or use 3 smaller Feed balls for Aquatic plants in the large 23cm baskets and 2 in the 15 cm baskets.
• Push the Aquatic feed ball into the soil of the basket by the crown of the plant to give the flowering and growth a boost.