Separation Anxiety

Here are a few specimens I'm dragging around my garden this week:

I wrote an article on dividing PULMONARIA last year, so if that's on your garden agenda, you might want to check it out. They need to be handled differently, and if you have one container of Mrs. Moon or Bert Anderson , you have the potential for loads of divisions--- http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/heri...

I will say that I have divided up my lungworts after only a year of growth in the garden, and they take longer to fill out. You may want to divide them every three to five years, for better results.

All species of DICENTRAS like to be divided at this time of year, but if you have them, you can tell by looking at them in your garden--- they're dormant. Should you know where they are with a reasonable degree of gardening certainty, dig up a bigger area than that in which the dicentra lives to make sure you aren't shearing off the roots. The roots of bleeding hearts are almost as brittle as glass thread, and need to be treated very gently. Use a really sharp tool to quarter the root ball you have removed. When replacing the divisions, set them carefully into place and sprinkle soil around them until the hole is full. Water lightly and repeat---don't tamp the dirt in with a shovel or you foot , as this breaks off the rootlets. A little slow- release fertilizer or humus mixed in will give you lots of blossoms.

Other species are notoriously stubborn to divide, and SIBERIAN IRISES are among the worst of these. I have used an old hack saw to quarter them, up and recommend it highly. Obviously, no delicate touch is required here. Whatever works on these guys is just fine.

There are a lot of techniques for aiding the process of division, and I'll post them next week. Should you have any questions in, by all means, ask!

Go To Page: 1 2