Need advice on choice of lilies

[Sooner Dragon]

I have a koi pond which I'd estimate to be about 3,000 gallons and about 13' x 26' in width and length. Partial shade. Located in Oklahoma. Hot in the summer, and temperatures may occasionally approach 0 degrees in the winter.

I need to restock lilies in the pond. I want the largest and most aggressive variety available. Large and numerous pads. Blooms are nice, but I'm primarily interested in maximizing pad coverage over the pond to provide cover for the fish.

I see all kinds of available lily varieties but I don't have a clue what kind to get. Can anyone help me with recommendations?

I'd also appreciate any advice on choices of online sellers of pond plants. Thus far, I've only used PetSolutions. They're fine, but I'd be interested to know if there are better choices.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Kat]

If you are looking for large growth habit hardies these are some:

Perry's Orange Sunset, Perry's Double Yellow, Sunny Pink, Pink Grapefruit, Lily Pons, Mayla, Mangkala Ubol, Pink Ribbon, Almost Black

Tropicals:
Foxfire, Wood's Blue Goddess, N. gigantea, Alexis, Southern Charm, Blue Star, nightbloomers, Albert Greenberg, Caliente, Avalanche, Midnight Embers, Midnight Serenade, Blink, Pamela, Miami Rose, Panama Pacific

Good luck.

[Zoe]

I am no expert but we have a lily pond and a koi pond.  I purchased a Foxfire two years ago and it could be the only lily on my pond wich is about 18' by 15' almost round.  The pads can cover my entire pond if I left it to do so.  I have Bulls Eye in there this year with Foxfire and both have provided coverage for the fish.  Both have very large blooms and pads.  The forum has great resources for water lilies. Kat and Tim have helped me get some real nice lilies. I have not seen Tim on line recently but Kat is a plethora of information and has helped me a great deal.


Cindy

[Desertponder]

Of the hardies that I have, Perrys Orange Sunset, Sunrise, Pink Sunrise, Amabilis, Colorado and Denver are the ones that are the largest and bloom really well too.

[ThornyGardener]

I don;t mix koi and plants, but in my partial shade lily pond the hardies with profuse large pads: Sunny Pink, Colorado & Texas Dawn. They also have large blooms. If you are just looking for fast surface coverage, nothing grows faster than water hyacinth. (Kat has great plants.)

[big ron]

If you are looking for large growth habit hardies these are some:

Perry's Orange Sunset, Perry's Double Yellow, Sunny Pink, Pink Grapefruit, Lily Pons, Mayla, Mangkala Ubol, Pink Ribbon, Almost Black

Tropicals:
Foxfire, Wood's Blue Goddess, N. gigantea, Alexis, Southern Charm, Blue Star, nightbloomers, Albert Greenberg, Caliente, Avalanche, Midnight Embers, Midnight Serenade, Blink, Pamela, Miami Rose, Panama Pacific

Good luck.           I am also looking for cover in my pond.  I have 2 Charlene Strawn  and 1Red
                          Spider but they seem to stay more compact.  They are set at 18" below the
                          water.  Is that too deep.    I will definitely try some of yours.   Thanks for
                          the info. 
[/quote]

[unprofessional]

If all you're really interested in is covering the pond, you're not going to beat n. Mexicana.  Not very showy, but it's still a nice lily.  Get N. mexicana 'Cape Canaveral' for the same coverage, but more impressive blossoms.  Check state law first, as it's considered invasive in some places, as I recall.

[Kat]

Big Ron--that depth should be fine but you can experiment by putting the lilies on a cinder block to elevate them a bit higher to see if it makes a difference.

I've heard some horror stories of mexicana taking over ponds.

Orchid Star also produces huge pads.

[Desertponder]

Wow, it must be differences in climates or something but I see some of you posting that Mayla and Almost Black grow large. Not in my ponds! Both of those are some of my smaller growers and rarely bloom.

[SueSTx]

The lily sold to me as Mayla isn't a good bloomer or very large either.

[Desertponder]

Also, Mexicana does not do well for me either. It just sits there, a few pads, and it hasn't bloomed in 2 or 3 years. Its one that is getting the boot next month. I believe some growth habits in various lilies depends on your climate and pond conditions, they are not always going to be the same.

[unprofessional]

How do you have your lilies potted/etc?  The three you posted as not doing well for you are all very vigorous growers.  Mayla is gigantic, and mexicana is so weedy it can take over a pond in less than a year (trust me, I know).

[Desertponder]

They are all in dishpans planted in top soil, they all get fertilized once a month. Mayla has never grown large or done well for in the years that I've had it. Actually, none of the red lilies or the pinks with hot pink flowers have ever done well for me and that's why I have very few if any reds.

[Holldoll]

I have Georgia Peach that has both been a fast grower providing lots of coverage and also an unnamed yellow that has grown faster than I can keep up with it.

[matherfish]

There have been some excellent suggestions here. I might also add Louise Villamarette.
Unless you want to store corms over winter, you need hardy lilies. The tropicals will not survive your winter, most likely.