Thanks miguynmkoi, glad you liked them.
thepitclub,
The pots that I use for starting lilies are 1/2 gallon flower containers like you see at garden centers with plants for sale in them.
They have 4 holes about the size of a nickel around the bottom edge of the container and a 5th hole in the center on the bottom.
I take several layers of newspaper to cover the holes.
I then put about 2 inches of heavy soil in the bottom to keep the newspaper in place.
I then mix in the granular fertilizer or sometimes some Osmocote into the dirt and fill the container to 2/3's full if the root system will still fit that way.
I then put in pond tabs and push them down into the soil at that depth.
I put the water lily in and carefully lock it into place with more soil to an even depth to cover all of the roots and keep the crown uncovered.
I then place either sand or rocks on top of the dirt to keep the dirt and fertilizer from leeching out into the water.
Try to keep the crown from being covered.
***If it is a tropical lily, you want it in the very center of the pot straight up and down as tropicals grow straight up like a tree.
***If it is a hardy, you want to place it at a 45 degree angle with the bottom edge nearest a wall.
The rhizome grows at the angle you plant it, continuing to grow up but it can get new growth nodes anywhere along it's rhizome so you could get several new growth points along the growing line.
This is not the gospel but it is the way I do it and it works very well for me.
Tim