You may want to post this on the pond forum. There are more experts on this subject over there.
A 3-gallon pot is really small for a waterlily, even a miniature one. What variety do you have?
Bob

It's pink grapefruit; but I think it died already. . .
I'm a bad plant momma.
I'll try it again when I have my act more together!

i got the cutest little "tabletop water garden" at menard's this spring for $24.00, and it has a red waterlily, cattail, and some other water plant (i think duck-potato). anyhow, it's doing great on my picnic table. i top off the water daily, and i bought a "barley bag" from a pond store to keep the water cleaner. the bag is @ 6"x4", and begins to work once the barley starts to break down some. so for the first few weeks, i overfilled the bowl to wash out some smelly, green floaties...but since the barley started working-no problem! this was my favorite "impulse buy" this year...i will overwinter these plants and get creative with the container choice next year-what fun!

What a great idea, mrimomma! The jury's still out on my waterlilies; I did go out and buy a huge plastic (no holes) container-- it's at least 7 gallons, maybe more, and got some aquatic planting medium, fertilizer spikes, and some kind of spray to prevent mosquitos from being able to land on the water surface? (west nile country here, and I'm in an extremely urban area). So, with all the stuff I bought, I ended up spending like $60, but it was worth it to me if it would keep my lilies alive! But your deal sounds so much sweeter; I'm gonna look into it! Thanks for the tip!

Pink Grapefruit is a medium to large spread lily which means it's leaf spread is 6-12 feet. It will not be happy in such a small container. If you want something to plant in a container of that size, get Helvola which is a dwarf yellow.

Jan