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Dividing Your Perennials
by B. Keith Johnson
Have you ever wondered what exactly is up with dividing perennials? This
informative report can give you an insight into everything you've ever
wanted to know about dividing perennials.
One of the things that makes perennials so attractive to home gardeners
is the ability to divide and transplant the perennials. Gardeners can
use cuttings made from their perennials in order to create new growth,
share their plants with family members and friends, or even to sell
excess stock to nurseries, garden centers and flower stores.
There are basically two reasons why gardeners choose to divide their
perennials. The first reason is for the improvement of the health of the
plants, and to encourage those plants to produce more flowers. In many
cases, an older planting of perennials will become overgrown, and this
can cause the bloom quantity of those perennials to drop considerably.
The other reason gardeners divide perennials, of course, is to create
new plantings. Perennials can be divided easily, and these new divisions
can be used to create plantings in other parts of the garden, or even in
another garden patch.
Even though many perennials can be divided easily, not all can. In
generally, division is most feasible on those perennials that grow in
clumps, and those that have an expanding root mass.
The more authentic information about dividing perennials you know, the
more likely people are to consider you a dividing perennials expert.
Read on for even more dividing perennials facts that you can share.
Perennials that grow from single taproot, on the other hand usually
cannot be divided. That is because any attempt to divide the taproot can
cause the plant to die. Those perennials that grow from a taproot should
be increased by using root cuttings or seeds instead of division.
The best time to divide those spring and early summer perennials that
can be divided is generally in the fall of the year. Perennials that
bloom in the fall or late summer should be divided in the spring
instead.
To divide perennials, the ground around the plant should first be gently
lessened with a spading fork. The clump should then be sliced with a
garden trowel and then divided into four parts. Those four sections
should then be broken by hand to create sections four inches by four
inches. Those small sections should then immediately be transferred to a
previously prepared plant bed.
It is important for the gardener to thoroughly wet the soil a day or two
before the division is to take place. Watering thoroughly will make it
easier to dig the clump. In addition, it is important to add compost or
other organic material to the soil.
The organic material should be added to both the original plant and the
new divisions. Doing so will give the plant the nutrition it needs and
help them to thrive better in their new location. The plants should also
be watered thoroughly and fed with a good quality fertilizer once they
have been planted.
This article's coverage of the information is as complete as it can be
today. But you should always leave open the possibility that future
research could uncover new facts. B. Keith Johnson is a contributing
author for Flower Gardens. Visit his other sites for Product Reviews,
Free Website Content and Free Photo Sharing.
About the author
For more details go to
http://www.top1k.net. B. Keith Johnson is a contributing author on
many subjects. Visit his sites for Product Reviews, Free Articles and
Free Photo Sharing.
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