Dividing Knowledge

Answering Duncan's question, "it all depends."

I'll be dividing things like hostas, heuchera, daylilies soon and
they always do well with fall division if done at least a month before
frost here (zone 6 near Lake Michigan in Chicago). Replanting heucheras
in the fall and mulching well seems to help with frost heave.

Since I like to mingle perennial plants with annuals in pots, I'll
also be planting from pots to the ground. These include coreopsis
'Moonbeam,' hakonochloa 'Aurea', and amsonia. The last two will be
new attempts, so I hope they take.  I also like to put roses in in 
the fall - they seem to establish better than in Spring, when early
heat sometimes is too much for young plants.

Fall weather here is much more reliable than Spring, when long cold
wet spells can be immediately followed by hot dry ones, and growth is
so fast I can't keep up with the digging & dividing. If most of the
mess of dividing is done in the Fall, Spring is more enjoyable -- just
clean up and watch 'em grow.  I try to limit Spring dividing to asters,
sedums, Shasta daisies, phlox, and grasses.  But I do some dividing or
moving throughout the season to spread the work out.

Anne - Chicago


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