How to Divide Perennials
One thing that makes perennials so
attractive to home gardeners is the ability to divide and
transplant the perennials. Gardeners can use cuttings
made from their perennials in order to create new growth,
share their plants with family members and friends, or even to
sell excess stock to nurseries, garden centers and
flower stores.
 There are basically two reasons why gardeners choose
to divide their perennials. First is for the improvement
of the health of the plants, and to encourage those plants to
produce more flowers. In many cases, an older planting of
perennials will become overgrown, and this can cause the bloom
quantity of those perennials to drop considerably. The other
reason gardeners divide perennials, of course, is to create
new plantings. Perennials can be divided easily, and
these new divisions can be used to create plantings in other
parts of the garden, or even in another garden
patch.
Even though many perennials can easily
be divided, not all can. In general, division is most feasible
on those perennials that grow in clumps, and those that have
an expanding root mass. Perennials that grow from single
taproot, on the other hand usually can't be divided. That's
because any attempt to divide the taproot can cause the plant
to die. Those perennials that grow from a taproot should be
increased by using root cuttings or seeds instead of
division.
The best time to divide those spring
and early summer perennials that can be divided is generally
in the fall. Perennials that bloom in the fall or
late summer should be divided in the spring.
To divide
perennials, the ground around the plant should first be gently
lessened with a spading fork. The clump should then be sliced
with a garden trowel and
then divided into four parts. Those four sections should then
be broken by hand to create sections four inches by four
inches. Those small sections should then immediately be
transferred to a previously prepared plant bed.
It's
important for the gardener to
thoroughly wet the soil a day or two before the division is to
take place. Watering thoroughly will make it easier to dig the
clump. In addition, add compost or other
organic material to the soil. The organic material
should be added to both the original plant and the new
divisions. Doing so will give the plant the nutrition
it needs and help them to thrive better in their new location.
The plants should also be watered thoroughly and fed with a
good quality fertilizer once they've been planted.
|
