I planted my water lily rhizome in a pot and then walked it into our pond (pond size aprox. 5 acres) to place it under the water. It did well for this first year, I had a few dozen lily pads and 2 blooms. Currently, our pond is frozen. I’m sure it will be back this spring/summer season. I have planted lily rhizomes before and they take off and multiply for years. My pond does not have wild water lilies.