As every gardener knows, we have an expensive obsession! I don’t even want to tally up how much money I spend each year just adding to my existing garden. But if you are a gardener who is designing an entirely new bed or starting a project from scratch, the cost of purchasing plants can be mind-boggling.
Daylilies Can Benefit From Frequent Division
One way to reduce your long-term cost is to purchase perennials that grow quickly and will need to be divided every few years. Dividing a perennial involves digging up the original large plant and cutting it into several smaller plants. Typically you replant one of the divisions in the original location and plant the remaining divisions either nearby if you want to create drifts of color or somewhere else in your garden where you have a space that needs to be filled.
I am not going to get into the specifics of how to divide perennials in this post, but for now I will mention that early spring is typically a good time to divide perennials that benefit from this practice. Another good rule of thumb for dividing perennials is to divide them in the season opposite their bloom time. So for perennials that bloom n the spring, fall is a good time for division. For perennials that bloom in the late summer or early fall, spring is a good time for division. One more note of caution – not all perennials like to be divided so do your homework before you start digging up your perennials.
While the dividing perennials approach to getting new plants doesn’t make for a low-maintenance garden, at least you’ll have a steady supply of new plants to fill in any gaps in your mixed border. Here are some perennials (all thrive in my zone 6 garden) to consider if you are looking for flowers that will grow quickly and will benefit from division every few years:
Both Euphorbia (Spurge) & Nepeta (Catmint) can be divided every few years
Astilbes bloom better when divided every few years
Coreopsis will thrive when divided every 2 – 3 years
Monarda (Bee Balm) spreads quickly and can be divided in early spring
Convallaria (Lily of the Valley) is a fragrant groundcover for the shade that is simple to divide
Dividing Veronica keeps clumps small so they don't fall apart in the middle
Here’s a list of some other perennials that will benefit from division:
- Achillea (Yarrow)
- Artemesia
- Aster
- Heuchera
- Hosta
- Penstemon (Beard Tongue)
- Phlox paniculata (tall garden Phlox)
- Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan)
- Solidago (Goldenrod)
Do you have any other favorites that you regularly divide in your garden? If so, please leave a comment, I’m always looking for new plants to add to my garden and I’d love to hear about them.
