Split Perennials and Double Your Flowers

How were your perennial flowerbeds this year? Did you have gorgeous blossoms all summer-long, or were your plants mostly putting out greenery with just a few leggy flowers?

If you answered “greenery and leggy flowers” then you need to perform some major surgery on your beds – and the best time to do it is right now. Here’s how:

  * Dig up your perennial with a garden fork or spade, making sure to keep the roots intact and attached to the leaves.

  * Place the perennial on the ground and cut in half with a spade. Now you have two plants with roots attached. Don’t worry if you have to hack at the root mass. The plants don’t mind.

  * If the plant is really large, you can divide it into several smaller plants. (See photos for a good example.)

  * Plant each new perennial in freshly turned soil – not too close to each other – and water well.

New gardeners worry they’re going to kill their plants by dividing them. Not true. Plants need space to grow, just like children.  And like a bunch of kids, they often get on better when they're split up!

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