Division is a quick and easy way to propagate your favourite plants for filling in gaps in your garden or swapping with your gardening friends.
Depending on the resources you have at your disposal quite a number of new plants can be propagated from division. For example, if you have access to a greenhouse, or polythene tunnel, very small sized divisions of plants can be grown on under controlled conditions. Plants grown this way will quickly become large enough to plant out after they have reached a desirable size and hardened off from the protective environment in which they were raised.
Some herbaceous perennials begin to deteriorate with age, so if you divide older plants up, use the outer sections of the plant and discard the older middle section of the plant.
If you plan on planting your newly divided plants in situ straight away, it makes good sense to improve the soil quality, if needed, at the same. Adding some grit and organic matter such as compost will help in getting your plants happily established in their new surroundings. A gentle watering in and attention to watering in dry periods will be of great help until your plants are fully established.
The time to divide plants depends on the actual plant itself and your growing conditions. For example if you garden in a mild, sheltered area then division in very early autumn will allow your new plants to grow a good root system before dormancy. This will ensure your plants get of to a great start the flowing growing season. Some plants will be much more vigorous in growth than others. In colder areas spring division might be best, as then the plants have a full growing season to establish themselves.
As with everything pertaining to gardening, it’s your knowledge and experience about your own garden and growing conditions that helps you most.
Having decided on the plants you wish to propagate by division, a good first step is to gather the tools and resources you need. For example, digging and planting tools, an old pair of secuters, for cutting through particularly tough plants. I use a bonsai tool, which is a root rake, for teasing apart small divisions that I wish to pot up and grow under a protected environment. Have some grit and organic matter at hand if you wish to improve your soil at the same time. And any pots you might need if you are potting up small divisions to grow on until planting out.
Having all you need to hand, the next step is to carefully dig up your selected plant. Some plants seem to naturally divide very easily, and a gentle teasing apart will result in new plants. Others can be a little more stubborn and might need careful cutting away to get suitable plant material for replanting. An important point is to keep the roots moist as you work so as not to put added stress on the plant.
Then, having divided your plant, the next step is to either replant, or containerise for growing on. After replanting give a gentle watering in to settle soil particles around the roots.
There are many good resources available in books and on the internet that give advice on the best times for division. For me there is nothing quite like the delight from growing and propagating your own plants. Division is a quick and cheap method of increasing plant numbers.
Jules.
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