Dividing perennials

Fri. May. 4, 2018
Topic:  Landscaping · Perennials

Click below to listen to my 2 min Garden Bite radio show:  Dividing perennials

GBTK 5-4-18

Now’s the time to divide your perennials.  GENERALLY speaking, perennials can be divided every 3 years.  Hostas are one of these plants!  The plants below were too large for division.  Divide when the plants are peaking up about 4 inches or so.

hostas

I divided these hosta multiple times when I lived there and moved some out to wooded gardens.  A garden fork is your best friend for digging up plants.  You do minimal root damage by using a fork.

Another suggestion is to place a tarp near your digging area, when you dig up the plant(s) place the dirt and plant on the tarp.  You save a lot of mess that way!  PS, this video below is from 2013!  My first full year at this home, so it looks a lot different now!

May 2017

If any of your plants have mushy parts, release them to the Great Beyond.  They’re not going to produce as you would want them to and may infect other plants.  You want to make sure that you have plenty of roots and growing points (3 to 5) for each plant.

You can use a spade, a knife or your hands to divide your plants.  Also, IF you see any possible disease, clean your tools each time you slice them a plant.  Use rubbing alcohol or Lysol.  Do NOT use Pine-Sol, it’s too corrosive.
If you have an abundance and your family, friends and neighbors don’t want any more of your bounty, you can donate them to Master Gardener plant sales or church sales or any other creative outlet.
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