pond water lillys

Question
I have a water lilly for my pond.  When I put the lilly in it was healthy but now the lilly pads are turning brown and dying.  What do I need to do about this.

Answer
Often, when you buy a new lily and put it into the pond, it will drop most of the growth that it had on there when you bought it.  This is normal and do to the stress of moving from place to place.  The lily should be potted in a 2 to 7 gallon pot (I mostly use 5 gallon pots) with clay soil and topped with pea gravel.  You should add tablet fertilizer sold for lilies, 1 pill per gallon, not touching the roots.  Once the original leaves and flowers fall off, it should put up new leaves within a few weeks but may not flower for months.  My page on lilies is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/plants/lilies.htm

Good luck!
Robyn