Dividing Your Perennials

In  the fall or early spring is a good time to make changes to your flower gardens. You may want to dig up some of your clumps of perennials to make room for other plants, or divide them into smaller bits to spread to other areas in your yard, pot them up, or share with your neighbours.  For most perennials the process is easy.

For an example here, I have shown photos of dividing Helleborus (an early flowering shade loving plant.) It has formed a big clump, and I needed to move it from its present location.  Some perennials are very dense if left too long before dividing, so you will need a couple of forks, and a good sharp knife.

Force one fork into the centre of the clump, use your feet if you have to. Once through, force the other fork through at the same point but in the opposite direction. Now you can pry the clump apart with the use of the forks. Use the knife for any stubborn bits that won’t break apart. Do this over again to each new clump, until you have them the size that you desire. I wanted my pieces small to put in pots for an upcoming plant sale.

When I look around  my garden, most of my plants have come from little bits of someone else’s garden. I have fond memories in some of my plants, of the dear friends that have shared 🙂