Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Dividing perennials now will pay dividends later
Libba Wolfe
Libba Wolfe's column appears twice monthly in Extra.
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August was a wearying month of sprinkler moving, hose dragging and weeding. It’s the month when I start to wonder just what it is I love so much about gardening.
But then September arrives with rain and cooler temperatures and I’m ready to go again. The plants perk up and so do I.
Yard chores feel like fun and good exercise instead of sweaty drudgery.
The next few weeks are the perfect time to divide and move perennials. It’s time to divide if the plant is crowding out other desirable plants in your border. Or if the flowers this year were noticeably fewer or smaller. Or if a plant that is supposed to stand straight and tall has the permanent flops. Or if the center of the plant is less vigorous or dead and all the new growth is coming up on the edge of the clump.
Do yourself a favor; divide and you’ll have new babies to spread around the yard or share with friends. Divide and you’ll do the plant a favor. Too many roots competing for water and nutrients weakens the plant. An overgrown clump is also an invitation to pests and disease.
A general rule is divide spring and early summer blooming plants in the fall. Everything else can wait till the ground thaws late next winter.
Make it fun, not a chore
The first thing you need to do is cut the plant back by half to two-thirds. A recently disturbed plant needs time, water and nutrients to get itself re-established. The roots do all the work and the less stem and foliage they have to feed and support the quicker they can get their business done.
Garden books will tell you to water thoroughly the day before you plan to dig. Then choose a cloudy, cool day to work. Dig a hole 6 inches wider than the root ball and ease it out of the ground. Gently tease the roots apart, being careful not to damage them, to form several different plants. Keep them moist and covered if they’re going to be exposed for longer than a millisecond.
I don’t know about you but that process sounds like too much planning ahead and as if you’d have to put on sterile scrubs and wash your hands before you got started. This isn’t brain surgery.
If you find some free time, water the plant. It will make the digging easier. Dig up half of it and put it in a new hole. Water the old and new one. Done.
OK, I know it’s not always that easy. Some roots are so tangled or so fleshy you’ll have to take the entire plant up. You may need the sharp edge of the shovel or a garden knife to divide the roots.
The sooner you can get the roots back in the soil the better, but sometimes it takes time.
I have a gorgeous, old-fashioned keria shrub that started three years ago with a keria stick my brother ripped out of his garden. Literally one stick with a few roots attached that rolled around my car’s back seat for a few weeks till I finally remembered to get it planted. It’s always worth a try, and I had nothing to lose at that point.
Of course, I haven’t been that lucky on everything, but I’m always surprised at how tolerant most plants are of my bad habits. If having to do it perfectly means you never get it done, that’s no fun.
There are some perennials that don’t like to be divided — butterfly weed, euphorbia, baptisia, hellebores, columbine and lavender. Except for the lavender, that group reseeds so prolifically, I can’t imagine why you would want to divide them.
If you have organic fertilizer handy when you’re working, sprinkle some in the hole. Mulch will help retain moisture. Just don’t forget to water it.
Grab a shovel and get back to work.
But then September arrives with rain and cooler temperatures and I’m ready to go again. The plants perk up and so do I.
Yard chores feel like fun and good exercise instead of sweaty drudgery.
The next few weeks are the perfect time to divide and move perennials. It’s time to divide if the plant is crowding out other desirable plants in your border. Or if the flowers this year were noticeably fewer or smaller. Or if a plant that is supposed to stand straight and tall has the permanent flops. Or if the center of the plant is less vigorous or dead and all the new growth is coming up on the edge of the clump.
Do yourself a favor; divide and you’ll have new babies to spread around the yard or share with friends. Divide and you’ll do the plant a favor. Too many roots competing for water and nutrients weakens the plant. An overgrown clump is also an invitation to pests and disease.
A general rule is divide spring and early summer blooming plants in the fall. Everything else can wait till the ground thaws late next winter.
Make it fun, not a chore
The first thing you need to do is cut the plant back by half to two-thirds. A recently disturbed plant needs time, water and nutrients to get itself re-established. The roots do all the work and the less stem and foliage they have to feed and support the quicker they can get their business done.
Garden books will tell you to water thoroughly the day before you plan to dig. Then choose a cloudy, cool day to work. Dig a hole 6 inches wider than the root ball and ease it out of the ground. Gently tease the roots apart, being careful not to damage them, to form several different plants. Keep them moist and covered if they’re going to be exposed for longer than a millisecond.
I don’t know about you but that process sounds like too much planning ahead and as if you’d have to put on sterile scrubs and wash your hands before you got started. This isn’t brain surgery.
If you find some free time, water the plant. It will make the digging easier. Dig up half of it and put it in a new hole. Water the old and new one. Done.
OK, I know it’s not always that easy. Some roots are so tangled or so fleshy you’ll have to take the entire plant up. You may need the sharp edge of the shovel or a garden knife to divide the roots.
The sooner you can get the roots back in the soil the better, but sometimes it takes time.
I have a gorgeous, old-fashioned keria shrub that started three years ago with a keria stick my brother ripped out of his garden. Literally one stick with a few roots attached that rolled around my car’s back seat for a few weeks till I finally remembered to get it planted. It’s always worth a try, and I had nothing to lose at that point.
Of course, I haven’t been that lucky on everything, but I’m always surprised at how tolerant most plants are of my bad habits. If having to do it perfectly means you never get it done, that’s no fun.
There are some perennials that don’t like to be divided — butterfly weed, euphorbia, baptisia, hellebores, columbine and lavender. Except for the lavender, that group reseeds so prolifically, I can’t imagine why you would want to divide them.
If you have organic fertilizer handy when you’re working, sprinkle some in the hole. Mulch will help retain moisture. Just don’t forget to water it.
Grab a shovel and get back to work.
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