Growing Wise : dividing plants

Gardening in Hard Times II

Elisabeth — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:16:00 GMT

Gardens get people through hard times. The most obvious way is by providing food. A little less obvious, but still very important, is the psychological and physical value of gardening. America's settlers crossed oceans and frontiers with seeds and cuttings of favorite ornamental as well as edible plants stored in boxes and bags. The sight of a favorite nasturtium or lilac helped remind people of home and inspire them to do the hard work necessary to clear land, plant crops and begin new lives.

Our challenges are different now, but the value of gardening hasn't changed. A previous blog post covered food gardening. Now I want to give a bit of advice to cost conscious gardeners who focus on ornamentals. The following are the best tips for saving money right now:

Page through catalogs and click through websites. Make a list of plants, trees and shrubs that you need and/or want. Prioritize your list. Once that is done, look for early bird specials, free shipping and free plant offers (usually free with purchase). If any of your "must have" plants are offered by vendors with such promotions, take advantage of them
Multiples: If you need or want more than one of something, check for vendors who offer discounts on multiples of a single plant or plant group.
Team up with the neighbors: You can often save plant costs and/or shipping costs by splitting orders with a neighbor or friend. For instance, if you and your neighbor both want daylilies, find a vendor that offers discounts for multiple daylilies, combine your order, divide up the cost, and have the daylilies shipped to one address or the other. You may also save shipping costs this way.
Consider planting "easy" ornamentals (especially annuals) from seed. Even if you don't have the sunny space to start them inside, you can still get them going outside as soon as spring begins. Annuals will bloom later in the summer. It's a lot cheaper to grow 20-40 zinnia plants from a $2.25 pack of seeds than to buy flats at $9-$12 apiece. Check websites and catalogs for discounts on early seed orders. Store seeds in a cool dry place until you are ready to plant them.
Plan ahead and think about plants already in your garden that can be divided. Find a like-minded friend or neighbor and arrange swaps.
Learn more about plant propagation. A great book on the subject is Making More Plants by Ken Druse (Clarkson Potter, 2000). Check it out of your local library or buy it in paperback.
For a little humor plus inspiration on swapping or "passing along" plants, get your hands on Passalong Plants by Steve Bemder and Felder Rushing (University of North Carolina Press, 1993). It is also available in paperback.

Multiplication by Division

Elisabeth — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:50:00 GMT

Most people find it very satisfying to take one large plant and divide it into two or more smaller specimens. But some plants are easier to divide than others. Daylilies, for example are easy. All you have to do is dig up the entire large plant, shake off the excess dirt, and then separate the fleshy roots with your fingers, making sure each division has enough of a root system to keep it going. Hostas take a bit more muscle, but are similarly easy to dig and divide. A garden knife or even an old paring knife is helpful in dividing the tough roots.

Campanulas, those wonderful ornamental plants with the bell-shaped flowers, can be more difficult. Recently I had to divide a ground hugging Campanula carpatica 'White Clips'. It had grown to an impressive size (about eighteen inches wide) and I wanted to start making an edging of the plants. Campanulas have many fine roots, in addition to several larger ones, all intertwined with each other. To divide successfully you have to tease the roots apart gently, a process that can take time and persistence. If you are too rough, a clump of stalks will break off with few or no roots attached. It will inevitably die.

The reason why I know so much about transplanting campanulas is because I have done it the wrong way on several occasions. Now that I know what I am doing, my campanula edging is coming along nicely. Sometimes, the only way to succeed is by failing first.

Dividing Bulbs

Elisabeth — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:34:00 GMT

It happens every year. The spring bulbs begin to flower and I realize that I need a lot more of them. The empty spots in my beds and borders cry out to be filled.

I make notes about the situation in my garden diary so that I will remember to buy more bulbs in the fall, but I also do something more immediate. As soon as flowering finishes, I divide established clumps of snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils and install the divisions in some of the bare spots. Doing this reinvigorates the established clumps and saves money on fall bulb purchases. I don't divide all the big clumps at once; I dig up about one third of them per year for minimum disruption of the garden as a whole.

The advantage of dividing now is obvious. You can actually see the plants, which makes it easier to avoid slicing into bulbs.

Daffodils, crocuses and snowdrops are good investment plants because they increase over the years. Dividing them is an excellent way to tend your investment.