Dividing water lily

[cnyle]

I tried searching for my answer but I couldn't find anything directly related. I am in the process of redoing my waterfall and I pulled up my planted lily and I also found this growing outside of the pot! The root system is very big for my small pond. I will readily admit that I have kinda neglected things for the past year because I knew that I had to redo a lot. But if I wanted to separate and replant this lily how would I go about it? I have an arrow pointing to a part of it that I have no idea what it is, and the other circled areas and the new growth coming out. Thanks for any help I might receive.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

When it comes to lilies, there is pretty much a whole lotta 'slop factor'. The original tuber is what your arrow is pointing to, and what you want is a section of that --- ending in one of those "points" (growing points, if we want to get technical...) with leaf stalks coming up out of that area. Break/Cut off the tuber to include a few inches of those lovely growing points, set it horizontally in the pot (you never, ever want to bury that beautiful growing "tip"), weight it down with rocks if necessary & let it go to town.

You can also consider adding about a quarter cup of slow release fertilizer (such as Osmocote) in the bottom of the pot/container before putting the lily back in. Otherwise, resign yourself to shoving 'plant tabs' into the pot/soil every 2 - 4 weeks during the growing season (for optimal flowering, that is...)

 

[cnyle]

That sounds reasonable enough even for me lol! I assume I would need to follow the growing point through all of the thick roots? And thank you very much for your help!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

That sounds reasonable enough even for me lol! I assume I would need to follow the growing point through all of the thick roots? And thank you very much for your help!

Yes. Follow a growing point back a bit & then cut/snap off a section of the tuber that it's coming out of. As long as you have a few inches of tuber (along with roots coming out the bottom) with some new, green growth coming up out of one end, you can be pretty much assured that you have an actively growing lily. Just (as already mentioned) make sure NOT to bury that little growing tip under the soil or gravel in your pot. Keep it horizontal & at the surface, bury the roots, and you should be golden.

 

[addy1]

Good explanation @BKHpondcritters
I am mean to mine, see a growing tip a few roots, take a sharp knife hack it off, put into a pot. Throw the rest away unless I want more than one of that lily or am giving some away. They will take over your life! And when they jump the pot it is hard work to get them out of the pond. I have one pond with the lilies running free. 1000 gallon stock tank. The tuber are huge the leaves are huge, all in one summer. I may climb in and yank a few of the huge tubers.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I can't have mine loose in the pond because the koi tear them up if they're not protected in a container of some sort. There is one that's still 'running free' that for some reason they haven't destroyed, so I just ignore that one. Some day I'll have to yank it & deal with it, but it's not a priority.

After you've done the whole dividing thing once or twice, you gain more confidence & get a bit less worried about being delicate. And that goes for pretty much any vigorous garden plant, not just waterlilies! lol

 

[cnyle]

I think I did everything correctly. I might have went a little overboard with my small pond but I divided up 4 different pieces into 2 containers, now to wait and see how it goes. Thank you all as always, this forum has always been the greatest!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I think I did everything correctly. I might have went a little overboard with my small pond but I divided up 4 different pieces into 2 containers, now to wait and see how it goes. Thank you all as always, this forum has always been the greatest!

Awesome! Make sure to post pictures of the lily blooms when you get them!

 

[cnyle]

Awesome! Make sure to post pictures of the lily blooms when you get them!

I most certainly will! I almost have everything done from the redo of my waterfall, I'm excited for the spring to see things get filled in. Here's a picture of how it looked last year.

 

[TJeep_1999]

I most certainly will! I almost have everything done from the redo of my waterfall, I'm excited for the spring to see things get filled in. Here's a picture of how it looked last year.

Looks great! What type of lilly is that? How much sun does it get?

 

[cnyle]

Looks great! What type of lilly is that? How much sun does it get?

I'm going to sound horrible here but, I'm not sure of the exact type. I got it from Lowes when I first started the pond. It's probably in the sun about 1/2 of the day. It gets pretty much full afternoon/evening sun. And thank you!

 

[addy1]

I'm going to sound horrible here but, I'm not sure of the exact type. I got it from Lowes when I first started the pond. It's probably in the sun about 1/2 of the day. It get pretty much full afternoon/evening sun. And thank you!

It is pretty whatever it is.

 

[Lisak1]

I'm going to sound horrible here but, I'm not sure of the exact type. I got it from Lowes when I first started the pond. It's probably in the sun about 1/2 of the day. It gets pretty much full afternoon/evening sun. And thank you!

Not horrible at all! I've seen many lilies for sale labeled at "pink" or "white" with no actual name attached. As long as you enjoy it, who cares! It's beautiful!

 

[cnyle]

It is pretty whatever it is.

Hopefully it'll survive my replanting!

 

[addy1]

Hopefully it'll survive my replanting!

they are tough plants