Dividing Hostas

From a single clump of plants, you can get numerous divisions.

Many hostas will form a clump after several seasons and become crowded. Although some selections are more vigorous and can be divided more often than others, all will benefit from getting a little extra growing room once in a while. So divide your hosta, and you'll know that you've taken care of it and gotten a few freebies in the process.

Although you can divide plants any time during the growing season, it's best to do so in the spring when the foliage is just emerging or in the fall shortly before plants go dormant. If you wait too late in the spring and allow the leaves to mature, the divisions will probably look misshapen for the remainder of the growing season. But if you catch them early, they'll grow to have perfectly round crowns and look as if they had never been uprooted.

When the new leaves of your hosta begin to emerge, you'll know if the plant needs to be divided. A single crown looks like a pretty rosette of foliage with a defined center, while an overcrowded cluster will look like a jumble of leaves competing with each other for the warm spring sun.

Other perennials that you can divide in a similar fashion include daylilies, chrysanthemums, asters, Siberian iris, and ajugas.

LINDA C. ASKEY

Step 1: Lift the entire clump, and shake off loose soil until you can see the base of the foliage and the attached roots. Gently tease these apart with your hands. Very crowded plants may need to be cut apart. Be sure roots are attached to each division.

Step 2: Place plants in a prepared garden bed. Allow space for them to touch as they mature to about the same size as the clump you divided.

Step 3: Your new hostas should be watered well while the young roots are becoming established.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Mar 2004
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