do you need to divide hardy water lilies every spring?

by Jordan
(detriot michigan.)

do you need to divide hardy water lilies every spring? and if you do, do you plant each root portion in a new pot? or do you put more than one root portion back into the same pot they came from? what do you do if you have more lilies than you know what to do with after division?

answers will be greatly appreciated.

Doug says that you don't have to divide a water lily every spring unless it's growing really well and you want new ones. Then you can whack off chunks.

But you divide when they start to grow out over the pot and get pot bound. And only put one big chunk back into each pot.

The extra can be given away to friends, composted, maybe traded for a few plants to a nearby small family-nursery (if they're really small) or advertised on the Net for a reasonable price.

or you could build a pond (another big shiny new one) :-)