I'm doing it right now! I hope you get some good advice before it's too late for me. I found some leaves with plantlets that had separated from the mother plant and I also found a couple of plantlets floating free. I took the latter and put them in little pots in a small bucket. I just got the waterlilies cheap at the end of a garden festival so I know nothing.

I have done just as cjc says with my hardy lilies with lots of success. Just pot up the "plantlets" and place them in a shallow container of water. As the stems to the leaves get longer add more water so they float free. I have also had "plantlets" settle into pots of other plants in the pond and start growing on their own. And finally, I have put an inch or two of cat litter in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket add water and "plantlets" to form a mini lily nursury.

Hope this helps!
Susan

I googled this info for you -

How to Propagate Water Lilies From Leaves
Contributor
By Frank Whittemore
eHow Contributing Writer
Article Rating: (0 Ratings)

Water lilies make a beautiful addition to any pond or water garden and are relatively easy to propagate. One way to accomplish this is by using a technique known as viviparous propagation. Certain types of water lilies produce little clone plants at the connecting point between two lobes of a mature leaf. Some lilies produce these tiny plants on virtually every leaf. Others also produce them from flowers. Once these "plantlets" develop roots, you can remove them and pot them to produce an entirely new plant.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need:

* Small planting containers with soil
* Sharp knife

Propagating Viviparous Plantlets
1 Select from the day-blooming cultivars such as N. Bluebird, N. Peach Blow or N. Daubeniana; the hardy water lilies such as N. Cherokee, N. Colonel A. J. Welch or N. Perry's Viviparous Pink; or the tropical species N. micrantha or N. lotus. Check with your aquatic nursery for more varieties.
2.Examine the leaves of a mature water lily plant to identify any potential plantlets. Look for miniature leaves at the sinus of the mature leaf, located between the lobes.
3.Check the plantlet for adequate root formation. Roots should be roughly as long as the plantlet is tall.
4.Remove the plantlet from the mature leaf using a sharp knife, taking care not to damage the root system.
5.Pot each plantlet in a small container and place them in shallow water around two to three inches over the top of the pot. You don't need to use rooting hormone or any other root treatment.
6.Protect the transplanted lilies from direct sunlight.
7.Feed the transplants with reduced amounts of fertilizer after they begin to mature.
8.Transplant your water lilies to larger containers when they reach flowering

Thanks! It seems like all of a sudden I have several leaves with these plantlets forming. I wonder if it is due to the cooler weather.

John

John, it is the time of the year.

Here's all I do.
plant the plantlets in some small flat container.
Anything that fit in whatever you are using to hold water.
I use 50/50 (sand/muck) that I add even more sand to.
If not, you can use just plain sand.
Set the planted plants just so they are barely covered in water, and don't raise the water until they have at least 4-5 leaves, and then slowly over a few days as the leaves reach the top. Finish off at about 6 inches deep.

Bring them in at night if it gets below 65 for tropicals.

I use a flat tupper ware and just plant them all in the same container. Feed them sparingly after a month.
They are easy
Corrie