{"id":3190,"date":"2018-12-23T22:05:36","date_gmt":"2018-12-23T22:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=3190"},"modified":"2019-03-06T23:24:53","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T23:24:53","slug":"dividing-perennial-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=3190","title":{"rendered":"Dividing Perennial Plants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the\nblooms fade on your perennial plants, the opportunity arrives to propagate your\nfavored specimens by through root division. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best\ncandidates for this process will have been growing for at least two years, and\npreferably a bit longer. The ideal time for propagation by root division is\nafter a healthy plant has had time to develop a substantial root system, and\nbefore it has become crowded and less productive of blossoms. When divisions\nare planted, they should be watered lightly and shaded temporarily to limit\nloss of moisture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npreferred time of the year to divide perennials is early spring or early fall,\nrather than the mid-spring to late summer period, when perennial plants are\ngrowing and producing blossoms. With this schedule in mind, right now is a good\ntime to consider which plants to divide. This timing gives the divided plants\nthe fall and winter months to develop roots and prepare to burst into bloom\nnext spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The general guidelines\nmentioned above apply to all kinds of perennial plants, but the process differs\nsomewhat with broad categories of these plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhizomatous and Tuberous Plants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plants that\ngrow from rhizomes or tubers can be dug up carefully with a garden fork,\nseparating the rhizomes or tubers by hand or knife, and replanted at the same\ndepth as the original plant. Tuberous plants include Arum, Calla (Zantedeschia),\nCanna, Dahlia, Spurge, and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples of\nrhizomatous plants are Iris, Canna and Bergenia. Other in this category: ginger\n(Zingiber officinale), the related White Ginger Lily (Hedychium coronarium),\nand the bamboos, which are members of the grass family (Poaceae<\/a>) and manage propagation quite well on their own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Blossom of White Ginger Lily <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Rhizome of White Ginger Lily<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once dug and\ndivided, these plants could be replanted immediately, or should be kept in a\ncool and dark place until a convenient time for replanting in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clumpers <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another\ncategory of perennial plants is the \u201cclumpers,\u201d which have fibrous root systems\nand clumping growth habits. These plants\u2019 root balls can be dug up with a\ngarden fork or spade, and then either pried apart by hand or split with the\nspade. The gardener might need to use two garden forks to divide really large\nroot balls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number\nof divisions to be made from a given plant will depend upon the size of the\nroot ball. Often, dividing the root ball into four quarters will be\nappropriate. While a larger number of smaller divisions might be desirable,\nthey could require more time to become ready to bloom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The roots of\ndivided plants in this category should not be allowed to dry out. Ideally, they\nshould be dug during an overcast day, replanted promptly, and watered in.\nTrimming the foliage to reduce transpiration also will help the plant to bounce\nback from the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clumpers\ncomprise a large group of perennial plants. Examples: coral bells (Heuchera),\ncranesbills (Geranmium), columbines (Aquilegia), daylilies (Hemerocallis), plantain\nlily (Hosta), primroses (Primulus), lamb\u2019s ears (Stachys), bugleweeds (Ajuga), Japanese\nanemone (Anemone hupehensis, which propagates readily on its own), stonecrop\n(Sedum), yarrow (Achillea), and several larger grasses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Runners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These plants\nhave shallow stolons or thin rhizomes, and spread across the ground. They can\nbe divided in the same as way as clumpers. Examples include bee balm (Monarda),\ngoldenrod (Solidgo), and aster (Symphyotrichum). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plants with Woody Crowns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plants that\nhave woody crowns can be divided with somewhat more effort than other\ncategories. The basic process is the same as for fibrous-rooted clumpers but typically\nrequire cutting the root structure apart with garden shears or saw, e.g., a\npruning saw. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples of\nthese plants include Astilbes, bear\u2019s breeches (Acanthus), foxtail lilies\n(Eremurus), goatsbeard (Aruncus), lilyturf (Liriope), peonies (Paeonia), and wild\nindogo (Baptisia). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plants Best Not Divided <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some plants\nhave root structures that do not divide well: they might have single taproots\nor single woody roots, and are best propagated by seed. These plants can be\nrecognized easily when they have been dug up. Examples include lavender\n(Lavendula), Russian sage (Perovskia), Allysum, carnations (Dianthus),\nEuphorbias, foxgloves (Digitalis), butterfly weed (Asclepias), and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dividing\nperennials can be a satisfying project for avid gardeners, and the most\ninexpensive way to multiply favored plants to the landscape. Tour your garden\nin a search for division candidates.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the blooms fade on your perennial plants, the opportunity arrives to propagate your favored specimens by through root division. The best candidates for this process will have been growing for at least two years, and preferably a bit longer. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[186],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-3190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essays-2018","tag-propagation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2WCVL-Ps","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3190"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3195,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190\/revisions\/3195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}