Water Lily Division

Questions asked and answered at pondlady.com

Question

My water lily floats . There are so many roots that it bust out of its pot and the roots are huge. I guess I have to find a huge pot and keep it down with rocks somehow? It takes up almost the whole pond.

Answer:

It is time to divide and repot the lily. 

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Divide-and-Re-Pot-Water-Lilies-18630160

Read about water lilies and more in my new book, A Practical Guide to Building and Maintaining your Pond.  Download it here

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Lotus, water lilies and catfish

Question:

How well will lilly pads and Lotus plants grow in a small pond that contains lots of catfish?
Is it possible to grow these in a small catfish pond? please explain.

Also, if you happen to know how big does a catfish pond need to be really and how many catfish you can put in a 200 square foot pond? How deep should dig it and how quickly will they reproduce catfish?





Answer:

You cannot grow lilies or lotuses with catfish. Growing catfish is aquaculture and needs special tanks, aeration, food and more. Fish farming is common in Louisiana.
Check with your local extension service to find out where to learn about aquaculture. Some community colleges offer courses in it.

Water Lilies and Frogs

Question:

What water lily is best for frogs?
the pond is 1 metre and a half long 1 metre wide.


Answer:
The frog does not care. He just wants a lily pad to sit on. Pick the lily you like best and enjoy it.

Dividing water lilies

Question:

I cleaned my pond.  The roots on my lily are massive.  Can i cut them back without killing or damaging it?


Answer: 
Sounds like they need dividing and now is a perfect time to do it. Remove the pot from the pond and then remove the lily. It probably has jumped out of the pot by now. If you have to, cut the pot off. Now hose the soil off the roots until you can see tubers. Start separating them. You will most likely have dozens of them. Choose the largest and repot them in something like a dishpan or that size. Trim off the dead pads. Fertilize and put them back in the water. If you want to save corms for friends, just throw them in the pond unpotted and they will be fine until you give them away. They won't grow, but they won't die. The lilies will now flower better and be healthier.
Put this on your to do list for every spring.