Just pick off the pads that grow out of the pond.

How deep do they need to be? It was already in a big regular nursery pot when I got it so its just under the surface of the water I thought they were supposed to be in wide pans or is that just lotus?

Hi fool4flowers,

I think somewhere on this forum maybe last year, a guy was talking about having his waterlily in tiny containers, and then cutting off a large number of his pads, and super-fertilizing it. I think there's lots of possibilities.
But if you want to keep it all.....you could get a big container to set your container into.
There are small-med-large lilies. Do you have any idea what type you have?
If its a med-large variety, would you be interested in getting a stocktank? Many of us have stocktank water gardens and really enjoy them. I grow lilies in 100 gallon and 300 gallon Rubbermaid stocktanks. I put the lily container at the bottom of the stocktanks (which are about 26" deep.) I used to keep them closer to the surface, until someone here told me that they really like to be deeper. Mine did start making alot more blossoms, the deeper they were.
I think you're probably going to have to go to at least a 100 gallon stocktank/container, and you probably will still have alot of overlapping leaves.
You could use a child's swimming pool......but it wouldn't be very deep, but would be okay on the short term.
Maybe someone here who has their lilies in a child's swimming pool might chime in and tell us how they do there.
Be sure to fertilize well each month, for blooms.
What size pot is it in now?

The lady I got it from didn't know the name and had it in a large sqare above ground wooden box with a liner which is what I would like eventually for it. What I didn't realize was this one pot was making all those leaves, lol. My little pond isn't but about a foot and a half deep and I think hers was probably 2 1/2 feet I'm guessing. I would love to have a stock tank but can't find a large rubber one here and I am afraid the metal ones would get so hot here. I also don't have any power for a filter of any kind in the back yard yet. I have a pretty large plastic bucket I could use temporarily that would be deeper but not as much surface are. A kiddy pool wouldn't be as deep as the little pond its in. I need to go to tractor supply and see if I can find a large rubber one like I want or get hubby to build me a square one with a liner. Digging a big hole here would be out of the question unless we rented a backhoe and I can't lug all the rocks needed for a large inground one either. I don't know what size the pot is but I couldn't even lift it its so heavy. Maybe 3 gallon or so? I will post a pic when I get home from work. I have way too many plants in my poor little pond. All I wanted was a small water lilly and ended up with a jungle but I love it. It was blooming when I got it.

Here is the page of Tractor Supply online that has an assortment of poly tanks.
I would say its more important for you to let the pads spread out on the water surface, than to have depth. (for now).
You can repot it next spring in a better container. You may even have to thin it by then.
I kept a lotus and a lily in the 100 gallon Rubbermaid stocktank and it was pretty crowded, but okay. I got all mine at Tractor Supply.
And you don't need electricity to it. I've had stocktanks for several years with no pump or filter. You get algae at the beginning of the season, but it clears up real nice, once the lilies start growing. You could get some floaters to help shade the water too.
If you have room in your yard, I'd suggest the 300 gallon Rubbermaid from Tractor Supply. I think 1-2 lilies would fit very nicely into that.
Several people here have those 8-10' blue polytanks and really like them.
Keep us posted.

Thanks. I can't really tell what they look like online. I would like the leaves to be on the water. I am going to check the ones out at Tractor supply this weekend and see how much it would be to build a box type one. Anyone have instructions for doing the wood box with a liner, lol? I have a good size yard but the back yard is mostly full sun except close to the house gets afternoon shade. I would like to put it near the porch so I can visit the fish I hope to keep in there someday, lol. If I do the tank hubby will make me put something around it to hide it and those heavy rocks kill me. I wish I could find a sqare liner and build the wood box around it. That would be too easy I guess, lol.

I'm sorry.......I forgot to include the link to TSC......but it sounds like you've seen it.
You could build a nice size wooden box around it, using cedar 4x4s, and then just line that with liner. You staple the liner to the top, then put flat pieces of wood on top.
Try googling something like "wooden water garden" and I'm sure there's lots of examples. I put a link below.

You can also hide a tank by putting something like picket fencing around it, tall flowers, painting it, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: above-ground wooden watergarden

Yes, I had already looked at the website, lol. Thank you so much for that link. That is exactly what I was looking for. Now to price the lumber and rubber part and see if it is more cost effective to do the tank or this which is what I really wanted from the beginning but didn't know how to do it, lol.

Good luck fool4flowers. Keep us posted. I would love to have one of the above-ground wooden ponds. It would be neat to put a wider piece of wood around the top, so you could sit on the side.
Since I'm in zone 5, if I ever built one, I'd probably dig down in the ground about 2' and then put the rest of it on top of that, so that things would be okay through the winter. But being in TX, you don't have to worry about that. Good luck!

Sounds like you need to trade the big waterlily for Helvola or another small one.

Helvola has blooms the size of a quarter. :)

I remove pads on my waterlilies all summer because I have too many crammed in my too small ponds. It doesn't hurt them.

buyorsell..........where do you cut the stem? all the way down to the plant?

Thanks for the help. I checked on the 4 x 4 posts at Ace Hardware today. $10 each. Jeez, I will have to go to the next town over and see what Lowes or Home Depot has them for. I got a kiddy pool for now and if its too shallow for the lilly I will put some of the other plants in there and the lilly can have to whole little pond to herself until I can get something else done for her. I need to run by that nursery and see if she knows the name of it. She just told me it was one of her prized ones.

How long were those 4x4's and were they cedar? I bought a bunch of 8' long ones awhile back at Menards, and I think they were around $10, if not more. The big box stores occasionally have sales on those, if you wanted to wait. Don't forget to factor in the cost of gas, before going to another town!

They were 8 foot untreated pine. I was scared to ask about treated or cedar, lol. I'm sure they will be less at one of the larger stores. I know about the gas, lol. I will be going there this weekend anyway and I have a friend that works there so if they are a lot I will get him to let me know when they go on sale. He did that for me with my landscape timbers and I got them for $1.99 each. I still have some of those left so I might use those and seal them. Then I would only need a few more and some flat boards to make the seat top.

Know anywhere you might get some used railroad cross ties. They are usually cheap when you can find them and they work to make a box with a liner. Glenda

Glenda, I would be a little worried about all those chemicals that those ties are treated with....especially handling them and breathing in any sawdust from cutting them, and the runoff from them. Lots of people don't worry about those things, but I do. :)

There is a small town we go through on our way to the lake with a whole pile of them next to the railroad tracks but I'm sure they aren't getting rid of them since they have been there for the past several years, lol. I wouldn't be able to get them home either. I didn't make it to Lowes today. Hopefully tomorrow. I am seriously thinking about just getting the biggest preformed one I can find and just digging out the bottom area and put rocks around the sides. I don't think I can dig that deep in this hard ground to put it all the way in the ground but I have this big round iron gazebo I could put it like that on the inside maybe. Hubby wants me to take all the plants out of my flower bed and put it there and I am thinking no way, lol.