Dividing Your Perennials
A few benefit from work in the fall
While most perennials should be divided in spring,
a few do better worked with in the fall. Don't divide
your perennials according to the calendar. Listen to
your plants. They like to have breathing room, just
the right amount of light, and a lot of love. When
they start dying out in the center, don't bloom like they used to, or seem leggy, divide them.
General Tips
Over the years, keep track of how your trees are shading your perennial garden. Take a whole day sometime in the high summer, make a pitcher of lemonade, and just sit in the yard from dawn until dusk to see how the sun moves. (You can tell your boss I recommended this so your garden is the best it can be!)
Use the dividing time to amend the soil easily. However much you remove from your bed, replace with rich soil or compost. If your parent plants are happy in their spot, it makes sense to put the kids nearby!
Divide and transplant on a cloudy day, in the morning or late afternoon, so the divisions don't dry out. If it's going to be more than a few minutes before replanting, put the kids under a wet newspaper.
Dividing and Transplanting
Basically, dig up the whole plant a few inches past its "drip line." Dig deep so you don't damage those precious roots. Throw out the weak ones, and leave a good amount of root on the ones you choose to replant. A good rule is to divide the parent into quarters. This leaves the kids with enough root to get established without needing re-division very soon.
Since it's fall, you can trim the foliage back in proportion to the new root system. This makes the plants easier to handle, too.
Break clumping plants apart with your fingers or two pitchforks. Divide rhizome or tuberous plants with sharp shears or a knife. Particularly stubborn parents could use a good hacksaw.
Replant at the same level as the parent plant, making sure the crown is slightly above the soil. Water thoroughly, of course, and a shot of fertilizer can't hurt.
Species That Like to Be Divided in the Fall
Here are a few perennials common to this area that do well divided in the fall. Don't wait too much longer, though: you want your new plants to get established before they go to sleep for the winter.
Achillea (Yarrow)
Aconitum (Monkshood)
Aegopodium (Snow on the Mountain)
Ajuga (Bugleweed)
Anthemis (Chamomile)
Aquilegia (Columbine)
Armeria (Thrift)
Artemisia (Silvermound)
Aruncus dioicus (Goat's Beard)
Asarum (Wild Ginger)
Astilbe (False Spirea)
Aubrieta (Rock Cress)
Baptisia (Indigo)
Bergenia
Brunnera
Campanula (White or Blue Clips)
Centaurea (Star Thistle)
Chelone (Turtlehead)
Coreopsis (Tickseed)
Dianthus (Sweet William)
Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)
Eupatorium (Boneset)
Euphorbia (Cushion Spurge)
Geranium (Cranesbill)
Hemerocallis (Day Lily)
Heuchera (Coral Bells)
Heucherella
Hosta
Iris
Lamium (Dead Nettle)
Liatris (Gayfeather)
Ligularia
Linum (Flax)
Lobelia
Lysimachia
Monarda (Bee Balm)
Platycodon (Balloon Flower)
Polemonium (Jacob's Ladder)
Potentilla
Pulmonaria (Lungwort)
Salvia
Sedum
Stachys (Lamb's Ears)
Trollius (Globe Flower)
Veronica
Viola
If you need more information on a specific plant, feel free to email us at beiersgreenhouse@beiersgreenhouse.com and we'll look into it for you. We'll answer you promptly!
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