I'm moving onto phase 2 of my redneck planter plan - I've collected bathtubs, filled with soil and now am planting the divisions that I've acquired over the last 8 months (who knew this would be my pandemic-passion? ). If I plant two divisions from the same mother plant, will the rhyzomes merge and form one single plant, or will they remain two separate (albeit entangled) entities? Photo is of the Aureocaulis (I think?), but I have two Nigras and Rufas sitting in tubs as well.
They will likely end up appearing as a single plant but they will always be 2 plants. You'll really need to do some frequent rhizome pruning and culm thinning if you put 2 in a bathtub, one in the center of the tub would likely hit all sides of the tub in year 1 with rhizomes. An exception to that would be plants that were allowed to grow in a circle in the pot before planting might take 2 years.
You can certainly put 2 per tub but you will end up with a mess of rhizomes and roots pretty quickly, then you have a large rootbound 'pot' as they eat the soil up and be hard to keep happy so you have to frequently clear out 1/3 or so to make new space. One will do the same but take longer to do so.
needmore wrote:You can certainly put 2 per tub but you will end up with a mess of rhizomes and roots pretty quickly, then you have a large rootbound 'pot' as they eat the soil up and be hard to keep happy so you have to frequently clear out 1/3 or so to make new space. One will do the same but take longer to do so.
Thanks! They were just transplanted from pots, so I removed one from each tub and moved into a pot for future planting somewhere else.
Alan_L wrote:There is adequate drainage in those tubs, right?
As well as the main drain hole, I drilled 12 1/2" holes in the bottom (well below the root balls), as well as sloping the tub slightly down, so water should move to the main drain hole. We've had almost 5 inches of rain this month and the soil is wet, but certainly not boggy.
). If I plant two divisions from the same mother plant, will the rhyzomes merge and form one single plant, or will they remain two separate (albeit entangled) entities? Photo is of the Aureocaulis (I think?), but I have two Nigras and Rufas sitting in tubs as well. 
