Expert: C.L. Fornari - 5/16/2010

Question
To overwinter King Tut, do you cut it back?  Do you knock all of the soil off before placing it in a pan of water?

Answer
Monty,
I'm assuming that you've had it in a pot over the winter, and it has some growth that is probably lean and leggy right now. Since this plant tends to grow toward the outside edges of the pot, dying back in the center, many people cut off the outside growth at the start of the season and pot that up in a new container with fresh soil. If most of the green growth from your papyrus is on the edges, I'd recommend that you take a sharp knife and cut off the living parts, trying to keep as much of the roots in this area attached to the top growth as possible, and pot up in fresh soil - you don't have to knock the old soil off the roots, however.

If your plant still has green, sturdy growth from all parts of the crown of the plant, you can either divide in half and pot up two, or put the entire plant in a large pot. Since these plants tend to grow very quickly over the course of a summer, I think it's best to start with a slightly smaller plant by dividing, but I leave that up to you.

Any of the stems that are too weak to stand straight now can be cut down.

I hope this helps,
C.L.