Category Archives: Perennials

Spring is a great time to split your perennials!

Spring is a great time to divide your plants!

 

This time of year is a great time to divide your perennial plants while they are just popping up after a long hard winter.  I have many hostas in my yard and this year I want to plant a few in pots to help decorate my front porch.  Last year, a friend of mine adorned her front steps with potted hostas and it was lovely.

The best part is –  if you already have the hostas, it costs next to nothing!

Creeping Jenny
Creeping Jenny

The biggest challenge to this project is getting over the fear of hurting your plant – it will be fine.  You will only be stealing a small part to use elsewhere.

The Creeping Jenny, shown above,  does just as it’s name implies – it creeps everywhere!  The vine branches spread out and will re-root creating another plant.

Find one of these, dig straight in with your trowel and gently remove the plant, disconnecting it from the connecting branch.

Plant the vine in your pot keeping the level of the plant the same depth as it was when you removed it from the ground.  Water it well.  I like to fertilize with a root stimulator to give the plant a good start.

To split a hosta, dig in with your trowel and remove a section of the plant.  In the picture I have 5 eyes from the hosta, but you can take as much as you want.  Sometimes hostas get so large that you may want to divide them into multiple plants.  In that case, you can dig up the entire plant, divide it and replant a smaller section back in it’s spot.

So many options – what will you do!