what variety to purchase

we live in central montana with a large pond on our property and would like to naturalize some water lillies in the pond. any recomendations? varieties? planting challenges?

Doug says that you get to pick the color you like of the hardy water lily. That's the main criteria. :-) If the pond is the right depth etc, they'll grow well. Stay away from the dwarf varieties, they do not spread as quickly as the big older ones do.

No planting challenges (other than trying to restrict yourself to only one color) other than making sure the water lily root is laid fairly horizontally (as in the directions on this site) and the growing end exposed. It will take it from there.

Enjoy your pond!