This does make a good pond plant. It grows out from the center, and then the center dies, requiring dividing repotting every year- twice if it is in a small pot. But as you can see, it requires digging and dividing in the ground, too. No special care needed for this baby- just take a sharp knife and cut out the good parts and discard the old stuff. It'll look great again in no time!

I think I'll keep it in a pot for now, thanks for the recommendation. I've noticed that the new growth comes out of the corm-like growths that seem to daisy-chain out from the plant center. How should I handle those? Cut them off and plant each one?

In the pond, those new growths would have roots already. You should be able to cut them with a sharp knife, put them in water and wait for roots. It shouldn't take long.

I have papyrus in a pot in my pond. It grows tremendous roots. Because I live in zone 5, Ontario, Canada, and we are subject to VERY COLD weather, I have to take it indoors for the winter. So, - I lift it up (pot and all), trim off the roots, cut it back, and place it into a 5 gallon pail. In the spring, I take it outdoors, chop off the pot, cut the plant into 3, repot, sink one into my pond, and give the other 2 away to friends in a trade for something else. It is a sytem that works well,- the papyrus is happy not to be too crowded, and I usually get other pond plants or tropical plants with which to amuse myself during the summer.

I should add that when I take the papyrus indoors, it goes directly in front of my sliding basement door and gets a southern exposure, resting between my hibiscus trees. By spring time, it is often up to 5 feet tall. These can be trimmed back, but take the tops, trim the leaves back to about an inch or so, and drop them into good potting soil. Soon, you'll have even more plants .....to trade with your friends.

The system continues, and you are the winner.

wow, i do the same thing, but i've been throwing all the tops to mine away every spring... i might have to become a papyrus farmer! i take mine, snip off all tops, go outdoors and cleave it with a shovel into quarters and make 4 from one. they are one tough plant.

one warning about bringing them indoors (especially right next to a hibiscus!) is how bad they seem to be "carriers" of spider mite.... i always give mine a good dosing of soap-water mixture to make sure they don't give the rest of my plant room an infestation, whether i see evidence or not.

Interesting. I have mine beside my hibiscus trees, and have not had spider mites at all. Now, on my brugmansia...they are surely spider mite carriers.
{{gwi:428482}}

We have recently moved to the Dominican Republic and my wife planted papyrus plants in pots around the swimming pool. The plants are sending out shoots horizontally and we wonder if we can cut them and plant them in soil without spoiling the shape of the original plants. How do we cut and replant them for the best results? Many thanks in advance to anyone with an answer for us.

I live in dry Northern California and my deceased father had planted a papyrus in our backyard. It is huge and I will divide it this year to offer some of its immense shade to my new chicken flock. Clearly, it does grow well in dry earth with minimal watering once mature and long droughts regularly, though we are fairly near to a river, so have a high water table.