i'm wondering if I've been going wrong for years

I posted some time ago about my lovely papyrus plants which seemed to be struggling after a winter spent indoors. There was an awful lot of dead foliage and I wasn't at all sure that they were going to survive. One I simply cleared out the dead stuff and bottom dressed. The second one was so bad I wasn't sure what to do so decided to go mad and crop it completely back to just stubble. I also bottom dressed this one also. This one seems to be resprouting much more eagerly than the one I left as it was. Should I be pruning it back to stubble every year rather than leaving it long?

 

I keep mine in a pot outside and cut it back every year plus cut off any dead stems on a regular basis. They come back quickly and flower beautifully assuming I remember to keep it sitting in water at all times ....

 

I have been bringing two of them in every year, still full size. The one I cut back is growing madly while the one I thought was doing better is looking miserable. I'll grit my teeth and cut it back too, see what happens

Thanks for your advice

 

I am interested that you have both cut Papyrus back. I have just one plant left after (I think) overwatering them over winter - its all part of the learning curve.

Can you divide it when it gets to a reasonable size? I hate relying on just one plant.

 

I got a bit desperate earlier in the year because they looked so forlorn. I decided to cut back the worst one thinking that if I got any new growth I could use it to restart but the one I cut back has done better than the other which I left full size. I did split my original one a couple of years ago which is how I came to have the two. I just took it out of the pot and split by gently pulling the plant apart. They quickly caught up and got massive.

 

Thanks Nikki. I thought you should be able to split it, but its nice to have confirmation before you do it on your sole plant.

 

I managed to take a small cutting from one of mine when I bottom dressed them both. It's on my kitchen windowsill and seems to be doing fine.

What I'm wondering now is should I be cutting the papyrus back at the end of the ear so they take up minimal space on the window sill over winter or leave them full size, cutting them back on when I put them out for the summer. Not sure what's for the best