Gardening Tips: Three Plants You Should Be Dividing Right Now!
Our gardens are pretty mesmerizing right now, aren't they? After a very long winter, it feels almost euphoric to be staring at the bright green of new plants emerging from their winter habitat. They seem to grow by inches every hour, and it's easy to get lulled into just watching them grow.
But don't get too comfortable! This is the perfect time to be dividing plants and replanting or giving them away! These plants must be divided now before they get too big to handle:
- Hostas
- Grasses
- Daylillies
If you wait much longer, the task will be more difficult and it will be harder to divide them without doing major damage. Transplanting them right now while the leaves are small and the weather is cool will be less shocking to the plant than if you wait.
How to do it: The easiest way is to dig up the entire plant and lift it out of the ground. Then with a pitchfork, spade, or handsaw, cut through the roots from the bottom. When you almost get to the top of the soil ball and before you reach the leaves, tease the rest of the roots and plant apart by gently tugging and untwisting the roots.
Replant each piece in a new location and be sure to tamp the soil down around the root ball so there are no air spaces. Water, sit back, and watch them grow along with your other emerging plants!
Most established plants can be divided into at least four new plants, although some will yield many more. I have divided some of my hostas and daylillies into ten or twelve new plants each time I divide them.
Happy Spring!
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Peggy Chirico, REALTOR®
Serving the Greater Hartford Area
Prudential CT Realty
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Peggy, great reminder, as some of these plants get out of control by mid-summer. I have a "grass-looking" flowering plant that produces pink flowers that is trying to take over my sidewalk!
Hi Joan - Yes, by mid-summer it will not only be too late but too hot as well. Plus, I don't know about you, but I lose a lot of interest in my garden by then!
Peggy -- Wish you were closer. I need about a dozen hostas. How far apart do you plant them? I've never planted them before. Also, what do they like best? Partial/full sun/shade??
Hi Barbara - I wish you lived closer too. If I am down that way, I'll bring you some. I have about 10 different types of hosta--some big, some small. You have to know how big they will get so you can leave room for them. They prefer shade or half shade, but I also have some that get a lot of sun and they do OK. That's the great thing about hostas--you really can't kill them!
Good reminder, Peggy. I've got some daylilies to tackle! So far I've spent a lot of time digging and giving away golden raspberries, because I allowed them to go wild last year. Mmmmmmm ....
Great post Peggy! A lot of people don't know when to do what with plants. My husband and I both do all our gardening. Our yard has hardly any shade so Hosta's are out of the question here but I do love them. Day Lily's grow well here though and can take our heat. We even have a Day Lily nursery not too far away!
Hi Joetta - Ooh, I wish I had some raspberries!
Hi DeeDee - Here I have more shade than sun so the hostas go crazy, but the daylillies love sun - your must be beautiful.