A Red water lily can set the pond surface ablaze. The thought alone moves you to take another look.

Some red water plants may be bright and cheery and others a warm deep burgundy.

A variety of red water lily such as Nymphaea ‘Attraction’ produces flower petals that are a deep crimson towards the centre of the bloom and have almost white petals on the outside. A large flowering cultivar, that is also one of the better water lily cut flowers.

Nymphaea ‘Atropurpurea’ is one of the darker red flowering water lilies. The blooms are very striking but can be a problem in hot sunny conditions where they absorb too much of the sun’s heat and the petal tips can be prone to burn. New leaves are purple and change to green as they mature.

A lovely Dwarf variety of red water lily is Nymphaea ‘Perry’s Baby Red’. This red water lily is ideal for smaller ponds to 30cm deep (Zone Four), producing deep red tea cup flowers.

One of the reddest flowering water plants is the Water Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccinea). The dazzling flowers are 15cm across and are real eye catchers. This perennial can be planted in moist soil (Zone Two) or even in water to 10cm deep (Zone Three). It can grow to 2.4m tall each year and flowers at the tops of the shoots. Best results are achieved if you tip prune the Spring growth once they reach about 30cm high as this will stimulate branching and encourage more flowers.