Now I get it. I have some sterlite tubs I could use but they aren't deep enough. I would love to just have the pots on the floor of the pond although keeping them from sliding on the slippery pond liner might be a brick. Perhaps a 1x 6 flat cinder block would keep it in place. That should work. So I need to find something deep enough to grow them to the required height to place in the pond. Plus then I can make sure they are fertilized well before placing. Once they are in the pond I couldn't put the plant tabs in them. So I guess I would use the spikes that (theoretically) last all summer.
Hmmm. Since I get my lilies from Texas Water Lilies and historically ask for them to be shipped the end of April when I can get them in the pond. I could put the container in the garage where I 'greenhouse' my other startups and have them growing under lights in the warmth for a month or so before they could go outside. Might be a shock to them as the water in the pond is still pretty cool, maybe 55-60 if I am lucky by May 1 or so. Plus our last frost day is May 31.
A 33 gallon garbage can wouldn't work very well unless I had some bright spot lights directly over the can. Being deep in the can to start with, angled lights wouldn't work.
Thanks for all the ideas. I may get some lilies yet. Well, I have had a few over the years. And I will definitely go back to using soil not gravel. They will be well 'moistened' after their stint in the container so no worries about mucking up my pond when they go in.
