How to Divide Hardy Water Lilies
- 1). Remove the hardy water lily, with its roots intact, from the water. If the lily is in a pot, squeeze the side of the pot and gently tap the pot bottom until the lily tuber comes loose from the soil.
- 2). Place the screen over the roaster or old pot. Lay the hardy water lily on the screen.
- 3). Spray the tuber with water, using a gentle spray. Continue spraying until all old dirt is removed.
- 4). Slice off the oldest part of the water lily tuber from the newer portion. The newest part will be sprouting new shoots, leaves and roots. Put the old portion in a pot of water.
- 5). Shear off all of the old roots and leaves from the new portions of the tuber. Keep the strong, new white roots intact.
- 6). Cut the new tuber into sections between three to five inches long. Each section can be re-potted to form a new water lily.
- 7). Fill black plastic pots with garden soil. Tuck a pond-plant fertilizer tablet into the soil. Leave a couple of inches of head space at the top of the pots.
- 8). Place each section of divided tuber into the center of the flower pot. Angle the tuber slightly in the dirt so that the crown is higher than the rest of the tuber. Be sure the pot has a couple of small drainage holes near the bottom.
- 9). Cover the tuber with dirt, leaving the crown exposed. Cover the dirt with pea gravel. Submerge the pots of divided hardy water lilies into the pond.
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