16 birdsandblooms.com SEPTEMBER EXTRA 2020
YARD SMARTS
O
Divide and
Multiply
GET STARTED- Dig up the plant you’re
splitting with a spade or
fork on a cool, cloudy day. - Lift the plant to
remove any loose soil and
to tease the roots apart. - Separate the plant into
smaller divisions, making
sure each piece has
growing shoots and roots. - Replant immediately
and water thoroughly.
nly in gardening does
division turn into
multiplication. We’re
talking about the process of
dividing plants—digging up
clumps of crowded perennials
and splitting them into smaller
individual plants.
“Dividing perennials gives
you more plants to place in your
landscape or to share,” says Justin
Hancock, horticultural craftsman
for Monrovia Nurseries. And, of
course, there are more perks to
dividing plants. Just be sure they
are pest- and patent-free first.
“The biggest value in dividing
perennials is that it keeps most
plants healthy and looking their
best,” Justin says.
While not all perennials and
grasses need to be divided, the
process can help reinvigorate
them and encourage them to
produce more
blooms. It’s
usually plain
to see when they
are ready for
a breakup.
“The most obvious
sign that your plant could use
dividing is when you see it start to
die in the middle—as it grows, it
is literally crowding itself out,”
Justin explains. “Other signsmay be a decrease in flowering
and overall performance. And the
clump may be quite large.”
Some plants can be split almost
any time, such as daylilies, but the
best season to divide your spring
or summer blooming perennials is
in fall, at least a month before the
ground freezes. Wait until spring
to divide plants that bloom in fall.
Perennials with finer roots are
among the easiest to divide. Plants
like yarrow, monarda, coreopsis,
and aster are simple enough to
split with a spade. Ornamental
grasses are more tricky. “The
bigger or deeper the root system,
the more challenging the physical
dividing can be,” Justin says.Why splitting perennials is healthy for your
plants—and even better for your backyard.
BY LUKE MILLERHosta