Alternative to Water Lilies

I got my barrel pond set up but the pygmy water lily has been eaten before making it past two leaves. I had hoped some new shoots would come through but there's absolutely nothing. I'm guessing it's a lost cause so I'm looking for an alternative to provide some cover to help prevent blanket weed. I did try frogbit last year but that was also eaten and I'd rather not go down the duck weed route. Does anyone have any recommendations that aren't likely to be nibbled on or become a nuisance?

 

This will grow anywhere - Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga)
It is a marginal, but will happily spread over the surface and over anything else in its path.
I also find it coming up in my garden! It seems quite happy growing in the garden, nowhere near water.
When it covers too much of the surface, I just cut chunks off.

Your lily may benefit from some fertilizer.
1 Osmacote 6 month slow-release plug poked into the soil in the pot will keep your lily growing well assuming it's still alive..
I had a pygmy water lily and it didn't die, but nor did it grow much.
I read on aquatic forum that the Osmacote fertilizer is quite safe for use in fish ponds or wildlife ponds.
It didn't seem to increase the mount of algae or blanketweed and my lily grew well.

 

Brooklime has completely taken over my large pond, I didn't introduce it, but it is a stream fed pond, so stuff just "arrives". It is a total pain, because I can't easily get to large areas of it. I would avoid it.

 

If you bought the waterlilly from a garden centre its probably only a tiny rooted cutting.

Garden centres charge stupid money for basically rubbish when it comes to waterlillys.

I know its pygmy , (can we say that these days), but it will take time to establish, I've found even the full sized ones get eaten if they are small cuttings with tender leaves.

 

The important question is eaten by what? Snails like soft lily pads and they can be a pain until the plant is growing strongly enough to be able to cope with a munching.

 

@pete I bought it from Lincolnshire Pond Plants so I would assume it was of relatively good quality. No chance of it getting established if it's being eaten. It's bad enough slugs snacking on my seedlings and perennials, now I have to contend with similar in the pond.

@Thevictorian I'm assuming it was water beetles as there's a number of them darting about. From the sheer volume of mosquito larvae, I'd say it was the herbivorous variety and not predatory.

 

I was not suggesting it was poor quality its just that like most ordinary plants they need a bit of hardening off.

 

@pete It was growing well but then the leaves started going the same way the frogbit leaves did last year. Although the frogbit did fare better, it was still a losing battle with whatever was eating it. I've fulfilled my quota of plants getting eaten for this year

 

I know its a problem, I had similar problems years ago trying to get "Attraction" going, I just wonder if fish eat whatever is eating your plant, if you get my meaning, as no waterlilly leaves get eaten these days.

 

I have a pygmy water lily, as the original pond was tiny. It's never been eaten by the pond snails.
Perhaps it's something else doing the damage, if it wasn't a tiny plant, as suggested.
If the site's not too sunny all day, water hawthorn is very useful.
I grow the water forget-me-not - the white one as I don't like blue. It spreads, although not quite like a water lily does as it's more upright, but isn't a problem. That's ideal if it's sunnier, but watercress gives a similar effect and can easily be pulled out if it gets too vigorous.

Perhaps worth taking the lily out and just growing it somewhere temporarily until it recovers. A bucket of water would do, and maybe easier to keep an eye on it.