O.k., looking at your pics, you're water lily most likely isn't dieing. Lily buds sometimes do not open and will drop back under the water and die. This can happen if the plant was repotted when the buds were in the beginning stages of forming or even moved from one location to another. Lilies just do this from time to time, its usually a sign that the plant is using its resources to protect the tuber rather than expend the energy on the flower. Once the plant establishes it will start producing buds again.
The pads naturally age and turn brown and waste away and new pads will be coming up all the time. When pads start fading away you can pinch them off at the base of the stem near the tuber to keep them from adding decomposed matter to your pond.
The lily in your pic looks like it is possibly Attraction? This lily does not do real well in dry hot temps so that could also be part of the problem. Many of the red lilies do not do well in dry hot heat.
Also, check the underside of the pads for extremely tiny clear worms. They are VERY tiny and they will be squirming around very fast. If you see these, they are feasting on the pads. You will need to prune badly infested pads and hose of the others. Keep doing this daily until you no longer see worms.
I would not recommend using the aquatic baskets. They are too flimsy and usually turn brittle and break easily. It is difficult to use fertilizer in these baskets as it just leeches out into the water.
I'm a firm believer in that you will have to experiment with potting techniques that will work well in your pond. As mentioned before, one technique one ponder uses does not always mean it works for the next ponder.
As far as pots go, you need something more wide and flat. Oil drain pans, dish pans etc. make good pots. I don't put holes in my pots. I repot and divide every fall. For soil I use a combination of a clay/sand top soil mix that my Home Depot sells and I add a little more sand to it. I then top the pots with a good layer of pea gravel. I have found that this works best for my lilies and conditions. I have tried using kitty litter, the bagged aquatic soil, straight pea gravel and even my own garden dirt but with little success but others have good success with all of these.
Lilies are also heavy feeders. You need to fertilize them regularly through the growing season. You can get pond plant fertilizer tabs, Jobes tomato spikes, or fruit tree spikes. I use tomato spikes at the rate of one spike per pot every 30 days. If you use fruit tree spikes you can bust them up with a hammer into smaller pieces and push a piece down in the soil every 30-45 days. You can also use Osmocote for flowers in the bottom of a closed pot when you repot the plant. Many lily growers use this method once a year so they don't have to fertilize monthly.
Water lilies are one of my passions. I'm not much into the fish aspect of ponds but I do love my lilies. Hopefully, some of this info will be helpful to you.:dance2:
BTW......the pond looks great!!
