Selecting the right water lily for a container water garden is crucial for success. The ideal varieties are true dwarfs, characterized by their compact spread, smaller leaves, and ability to flower profusely in shallow water with limited root space. These botanical adaptations make them perfect for thriving in a confined environment.
This is arguably the most famous and reliable true dwarf water lily. A hardy variety, 'Helvola' is celebrated for its unique foliage and charming flowers. Its leaves are a mottled pattern of green and maroon-purple, providing visual interest even when not in bloom. The flowers are small, star-shaped, and pale yellow, rising just above the water surface. From a botanical perspective, its rhizome growth is compact and slow, rarely exceeding a spread of 12-18 inches, making it perfectly suited for small containers as shallow as 6-10 inches.
A stunning dwarf hardy lily, 'Pygmaea Rubra' offers a vibrant color contrast to the more common yellows and whites. It produces rich, deep pink to red flowers that darken as they age. The blooms are slightly larger than those of 'Helvola' but still perfectly in scale for a container. Its green leaves are often speckled with purple. This variety demonstrates excellent adaptability to container life, typically requiring a water depth of 6-12 inches and spreading up to 2 feet, though it often remains smaller.
This hardy dwarf lily is prized for its distinctive and showy cup-shaped flowers. The blooms are a fiery mix of red and yellow, with petals tipped in a brilliant red. Its foliage is often generously speckled with brownish-purple. Botanically, it is a robust grower but remains within the dwarf category, making it suitable for a medium-sized container. It performs best in water 6-12 inches deep and will spread to cover approximately 2-3 square feet, providing a spectacular floral display.
Another excellent hardy choice, 'Fulgens' is known for its prolific blooming habit and striking flower color. It produces an abundance of deep rose-red flowers with bright orange-yellow stamens at their center. The leaves are olive green with occasional purple mottling. This variety is a strong performer in containers, its growth habit is contained yet vigorous enough to provide ample coverage and continuous flowers throughout the summer season in water 8-12 inches deep.
While on the larger side of "dwarf," this hardy water lily is a fantastic candidate for a half-barrel or larger container due to its exceptional ornamental qualities. It is celebrated for its fully double, peony-like flowers in a deep rose-pink color and its rounded, bronze-tinted leaves that offer superb resistance to sun. Botanically, it is a robust cultivar that can handle slightly deeper water (12-18 inches) and will spread 3-4 feet, making it the perfect centerpiece for a more substantial container garden where a true dwarf might be too small.
