Honest review: Water Lily is rewarding but frost damage on tender varieties left in shallow water is real

Water Lily is a genuinely satisfying plant to grow, but I want to be upfront about one thing: frost damage on tender varieties left in shallow water. I've dealt with it twice now and it takes consistent attention to manage.

Beyond that, essential habitat and breeding ground for pond wildlife makes it one of my favourites in the collection. I keep it in a natural wildlife pond with naturalistic marginal planting which suits it well. Learning about dividing overcrowded plants every two or three years in spring has been essential. foliage die-back and pond tidying in autumn is worth waiting for — the plant really justifies itself then. Four stars because of that persistent issue.