Water lily
Pygmy waterlily 'Rubra'
Nymphaea tetragona 'Rubra'
A hardy pygmy waterlily with red flowers, ideal for containers and small ponds; rooted with floating leaves and suited to shallow water of roughly 10–30 cm.
PLANT PROFILE
About Pygmy waterlily 'Rubra'
Pygmy waterlily 'Rubra' (Nymphaea tetragona 'Rubra') is a hardy, rhizomatous floating-leaved waterlily well suited to small garden ponds and container ponds. RHS guidance recommends it for ponds in containers and other small ponds because it is a compact, shallow-water waterlily that produces attractive red flowers and provides valuable surface cover and shelter for aquatic wildlife.
Planting is straightforward: plant the crown in a basket of loamy soil with the crown just below the soil surface, cover the soil with pea shingle to prevent disturbance, and position the basket so it is covered by shallow water. RHS cultivation notes give 10–25 cm as a covered-water recommendation for baskets, while pygmaea-type waterlilies are also listed in a 10–30 cm water-depth category; aim to follow the depth guidance from your plant supplier or container instructions. Place in full sun and in still water for best flowering.
As a hardy waterlily it is deciduous: the foliage dies back in autumn and the plant overwinters as a rhizome and typically resprouts in spring. Propagation is by division of rhizomes or offsets in summer, and young divisions are best placed in shallow water until established. Routine maintenance includes feeding with a proprietary aquatic fertiliser during the growing season, removing yellowed leaves and deadheading spent flowers, and monitoring for pests and diseases recorded on waterlilies (for example, water-lily beetle, water-lily aphid, certain moth larvae and fungal issues).
RHS records this cultivar as not native to GB/Ireland. GOV.UK invasive-plant lists for England & Wales do not include Nymphaea tetragona/'Pygmaea Rubra', but conservation guidance advises care to avoid introducing non-native pond plants into wild waterbodies and to dispose of plant material carefully to prevent escape of fragments.
POND SUITABILITY