Hi Gloria,
How old are your plants?
I'm a little confused.......are your plants planted in the 19 gallon containers and will they be set into a pond?
I like to keep my water lilies at the bottom of my stocktanks....which is about 2' down. They seem to blossom more than if set any more shallow. If you've had them for a couple years, they may need thinned. Be sure to fertilize them alot every month.
As far as the lotus, please describe what you meant about it being planted shallowly. Do you mean the tuber is planted shallowly? How much water do you have above the soil?

Sorry for the unclear post ;0(
Lotus is planted in the composted manure; growth points uncovered. Shallow I meant water just barely covering the top of the gravel layer.
WL are also set in the planting medium, but the leaves are underwater about 4-5 inches.
Both Lotus and WL are new (as am I!) They were just planted about 4 weeks ago.
So far, these containers Are my ponds!!! lol.
Have been reading past posts, catherinet, and follow your advice. Appreciate the info you give. Thanks, Gloria

Hi Gloria,

Waterlilies really like to have several feet of water over them, but they will survive in shallow water. They just won't make as many blossoms. I'm not sure why that is. I used to have mine on a milk crate in my stocktank, about 5-6" under water, and it did okay. But when I put the container on the bottom of the stocktank, it started doing alot better. The leaves will always come up to the surface. So fill your container completely up with water.
What kind of a WL is it? That's pretty small for anything but a miniature lily. You could probably start fertilizing the lily now........but try not to hit any roots or growing stems with the fertilizer tab. I did that once and it caused the leaves in the area to die.
About your lotus, 4-6" above the tuber is good. Lotus grow upright, as compared to lilies, that grow outward, so your container should be fine, but you will probably need to thin it in a year or 2.
Do you have any idea why your WL leaves are turning brown? Did you plant the lily at the right depth?
Can you see lots of little leaves starting to grow out of the plant?
I always just use poor soil for my water plants, and they do fine. Just remember these 2 water plants are used to growing in the bottoms of lakes, where I'm sure the soil is compacted, so you don't want any fluffy stuff for them.
This is a learning process for all of us. Just have fun with it! We've all killed various things in the past. lol!
We just buy more and try again. I'm sure your's will be fine.
Keep us posted on how your plants are doing. Be sure to keep them in full sun.

Thanks so very much for your response. Feeling a lot better about what I'm doing. The Lotus, I think, is called "Sunflower" and should be a dwarf. The Water Lil. are hardy: Attraction and Sulpheria (sp?)I hope to get better sized containers, but just got these to get me started! I think the lily leaves are dying because of the composted manure. I'm planning to empty everything and start anew with plain old garden clay soil. My water is too dark brown for lite to penetrate. Fires this weekend prevented my carrying out this plan. Gloria

Hi Gloria,
I think new soil is a good idea. Water lilies are pretty durable and you won't have a problem transplanting them. But be very careful with the lotus tuber. Just don't hurt any of the eyes/stems, and try to get any roots that have taken hold.
Sounds like a good plan Gloria.
I hope the fires weren't close to you!