Many perennials like to be divided in the fall, especially if they have outgrown their space or have ceased blooming well.

Dig up the whole clump with a large spade and then cut it into smaller sections. Make sure that you dig as much of the original root system as you can.

Sprinkle some granular fertilizer in the hole and then replace a section or two of the original plant in the hole and fill with new soil.

The remaining sections can be potted up for friends or plant swaps or moved in other parts of the garden. Include a note describing the conditions the plant enjoys if you are passing it on to other gardeners. I love plant swaps and have acquired many of my favorite plants that way.

I keep a bag of potting soil and some pots on my back deck, so it is easy to pot up things I divide in my own garden. Sometimes I just dig up a section on the edge of a spreading plant to keep it from spreading so much. I never throw any of these sections away if it has a chance of growing into a new plant…however, if it is an invasive plant I am careful to dig every bit of it and place it in a plastic bag that is tied shut and then I put that in the trash.

This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on dividing plants.