Have you ever wondered how to divide marginal water plants?

In this article I will walk you through the steps to divide marginal water plants and have a successful growing season.

You can grow your marginal water plants directly in your water feature or in pots. This depends on if you’re a hands-on person or not. Planting directly in your water feature plants can grow more rapidly, thus, creating a little more of a challenge when it comes to division. Marginal plants need to be divided annually or bi-annually depending on the size of your feature.

Now let’s get back to the hands-on issue.

Are you someone who loves to work while you relax or work so much you need to relax? Take that into consideration as I walk you through both steps.

First, let’s get the tools we need:
[us_iconbox icon=”fa-check” style=”simple” iconpos=”left” size=”24px” title=”A new pot (If the roots have destroyed the old one)” title_size=”20px”][/us_iconbox]
[us_iconbox icon=”fa-check” style=”simple” iconpos=”left” size=”24px” title=”Long knife or shovel” title_size=”20px”][/us_iconbox]
[us_iconbox icon=”fa-check” style=”simple” iconpos=”left” size=”24px” title=”Fertilizer tabs” title_size=”20px”][/us_iconbox]
[us_iconbox icon=”fa-check” style=”simple” iconpos=”left” size=”24px” title=”Aquatic medium” title_size=”20px”][/us_iconbox]
[us_iconbox icon=”fa-check” style=”simple” iconpos=”left” size=”24px” title=”Pea gravel or small river rock” title_size=”20px”][/us_iconbox]

Let’s get started now that we have everything!

First, lift the pot from the water and break roots free from the pot. Then, rinse the roots free of debris, split the plant in half, and make sure you get enough roots to support the plant growth.  For example, if you have a softball size plant you need to have a baseball size root. Place a few inches of medium in the pot. Put the plant in the pot, add the medium around the roots. Then, fill the pot about 1 inch below the rim. Next, push the fertilizer tab down in the pot and add the gravel up to the lip of the pot. Finally, lower the pot back into the water and enjoy the growing season!

For those of us that garden directly in the water, It’s not so simple. You will have to first figure out the best way to approach the plant. Is it from the water’s edge or is it from standing directly in the pond? If so you may want to lower the water level to make access easier. Remove the rocks and gravel to expose the roots. When that’s done you will need to pull and break roots away. This can be a very time consuming task. Once the plant is loose from the liner, drag the plant out of the water feature onto ground where you can divide it with a shovel according to the size you desire, and place the remaining plant back into the feature and cover the roots with rocks.

I hope this article was helpful to you! In my next post I will tell you how and when to divide a water lily. Can’t wait!!!