The first “patient” in need of care is a beautiful ‘Nymphaea Attraction’ that irrepressibly overflows from its pot.

Here is a picture of the pots we are going to use. The black one will be used to pot ‘Attraction’. Usually, water lilies are better off in wide containers, but some extra depth won’t harm an exuberant specimens like this one:

After removing the old pot, the soil around the roots must be cut with a very sharp knife:

The soil needs to be washed away from the roots and the old leaves cut from the bottom of the stalk:

Now the rhizome should be cut, approximately at 10 cm from the crown of the plant:

Cut it:

Always check if there are other little rhizomes left on the part that has been cut off.
This time there aren’t any:

Proceed by placing a sheet of nylon on the bottom of the pot:

This nylon is used only to prevent the soil from escaping the pot.
Place some soil on the bottom of the pot:

Some pellets of manure:

Add some slow-release granular fertilizer:

Place the rhizome with the cut propped against the wall of the pot, leaving enough room in front of the vegetative apex for it to grow:

It is advised to place the rhizome inclined as shown in the picture:

Fill the pot with soil:

Add a layer of sand to avoid the water from becoming turbid once you place the pot in it:

Press the sand down:

Clean the pot:

Write the name of the plant with a permanent ink marker:

Finally put the pot into the water. The germinating apex should be at 50 cm of depth for hardy lilies or at 30 cm for tropical lilies.

Here is another plant in need of care: the beautiful ‘Colorado’ which is going to be taken out of the pot.

Remove the soil from rhizome and roots:

Wash them:

This time there are many secondary rhizomes:

Remove the old leaves (in this case almost all of them):

Before cutting, isolate a secondary rhizome that is too close to the main one:

Cut off the rhizome:

The secondary rhizome is made of two rhizomes itself. Those rhizomes will be divided and put in a smaller pot till they are big enough:

Once again, put some nylon at the bottom of the pot:

Some soil:

Slow-release granular fertilizer:

Some pellets of manure:

Place the rhizome with a little inclination and with the cutting facing the side of the pot:

Fill the pot with soil:

Add some sand on top of it:

Add also some gravel in case there are fish in the pond like koi carps that could fumble the soil and leave the pot empty:

The bigger the carps, the thicker should be the gravel:

Clean the top:

Write the name of the plant:

Finally place it in the pond, the container or wherever you want it to be: