A: It's that time of year, isn't it? After a long winter's nap, your aquatic plants are a great place to start flexing that green thumb of yours. Potted water lilies and bog plants will need to be divided, but how you do so will depend on the type of plants you have. In general, bog plants will need to be divided every one to two years, and water lilies will need to be divided every two to three years.
Here are simplified, step-by-step instructions for how to divide your aquatic plants. Pull out your waders, pruning tools, extra
plant baskets, planting media and garden hose – and let's get to work!
Divide Bog Plants
Bog plants include species like corkscrew rush, dwarf cattails and irises. Some have clumping roots, some have runners and some have rhizomes. Regardless of the type of root mass, here's what to do with them:
- Lift the pot or container out of the pond and gently remove the root mass.
- Use your garden hose to wash the soil off of the root mass and trim any dead leaves and foliage.
- Divide the root mass depending on the type of root system.
- Clumping Roots - Like corkscrew rush, separate the roots into sections, leave some roots intact with each section.
- Runner Roots - Like dwarf cattails, cut the runner root and leave the root base with each section of the plant.
- Rhizomes - Like irises, simply divide them into sections.
- Replant each section of plant in its own container and dispose of any plant overgrowth.
Divide Water Lilies
Water lilies – both tropical and the hardy variety sold in our
Grower's Choice collection – are also easy to divide. You'll know it's time to separate them when you notice fewer lily pads, reduced blooms or splitting pots.
- Lift the pot or container out of the pond, locate the tuber and gently remove it.
- Rinse off the soil, and trim away root growth and old foliage.
- Identify the crowns, or the little buds where a new lily pad group will sprout, and cut between them with a sharp knife. Keep the pieces 3 to 4 inches in length. Each one of these will become a new water lily plant.
- Using aquatic planting media, plant each section separately at a 45-degree angle so that the growing tip is still exposed above the soil.
- Place your repotted lilies in a shallow area of your pond where only a few inches of water cover the plants.
- Once new growth appears, move the lilies to the deeper areas of your pond.
Fertilize and Tend
After you divide and replant your aquatic plants, don't forget to give them regular doses of
fertilizer to ensure they're getting the nutrients they need to thrive and produce vigorous blooms. Keep your colorful beauties looking good by keeping them trimmed and regularly removing dead foliage throughout the growing season.