What was the problem that messed up the pond? If it was flooded by ground water or flood water there may have been chemicals in it that damaged the waterlilies. We need more info.

I really don't know what caused it other than the fact that the pond is surrounded by pine trees. I have installed a shade sail above the pond now (it's been there for one year) but situated it where the pond can still get rays of sunlight. Very few needles fall into it now and the water is clear. I think I will take the lilies out this year and re-pot them...maybe I should have done that from the get go.

The pond is actually elevated from the rest of the yard...it sits at the top of a slope, so it would be difficult for ground water to flow into it. I would have to guess that the dirt came from the pots that the waterlilies were in and the rest came from whatever the Fall, Winter and Spring seasons decided to dump in it. lol Other than that, there was nothing that I could think of....btw, I think my previous description was off the mark.

The water was actually JET BLACK and stinked to high heaven. I don't know how I forgot that! Sorry......

Are the lilies in pots that have become root bound? If they are in pots, they should be divided every two to three years or they will start to die as any root bound plant will.

Definitely repot them and give them some fertilizer.

Maybe they were doing well in the highly-fertilized, stinking black water. Now the clean water has no fertilizer in it. Try fertilizer tablets.

The plants in my "dirty" ponds all do better than in the clean ponds.

Waterlilies need full sun. How much sun are they getting with the shade sail? They should have a good 4-6 hours of sun at a minimum. They are also very heavy feeders and should be fertilized.

I have found that if I do not divide my waterlilies that I do start to have problems with them. I divide about every other year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waterlily Culture.

It sounds like the pond turned over that means that the harmful gases built up all the way to the top of the pond depleting all of the oxygen in the pond. this makes the silt from the bottom go all the way up to the top killing everything in the pond. I think they will recover if re-potted in to a larger pot or split down to smaller plants. And returned to the pond it's still a little early too I think. here's a link that might help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Make Money Gardening

I agree with all the above. If they are still alive this spring you can bring them back with the right care. Your lilies need full sun and will do exactly what you have described if they don't get enough sun and are overgrown and need divided. They are also heavy feeders and should be fertilized about once a month to do their best. There are lots of videos on line on how to divide them and repot them if you need that information.

Sounds like the waterlilies have reproduced, made many crowns and become self crowding.

Until they are thinned out and given fresh fertilising, they will continue to choke up with too many crowns.

Some waterlilies are like that, they grow well for a year or two, then choke the pond...

Hello. My pond is not getting enough sun. Built it not knowing waterliles need sun. It is outdoor but covered and no way I can uncover it.

Is there an artificial sunlight so that my water lilies will bloom.

Please help!!!!

As you have discovered waterlilies don't do well without sun. One of the things you can do is put them in a LARGE pot and place the pot in a sunny location. I sometimes use those 55 gal blue drums and cut them in half so you two pots from one barrel. I make sure the top part has the plugs firmly installed, fill them with water and put the potted lilies in there.

Thank you for your advice to repot and move them to a sunny location. What do you think about artificial lighting? Is that possible? I want to make use of my pond. I read online that you can put High pressure sodium lamp above the plants to make it bloom. Has anyone tried this? Please help.

This is my pond. My lilies does not bloom because it is not getting enough sun. Anyone know about artificial sunlight? High pressure sodium light? Please let me know if anyone has tried it.

One thing that you need to keep in mind about ponds and aquariums is that what looks horrible to you may be good for fish and plants re black, smelly water. Also, do not repot water lilies more than every two years. This is my humble opinion but I think they need to be somewhat rootbound to bloom