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Division' in the Perennial Border-By H. s. Adams, ?; 



POSITIVELY THE SIMPLEST THING OF ALL THE GARDEN OPERATIONS, YET FEARED BY SO 

 MANY — LOOK NOW TO YOUR IRISES, PHLOX, ETC., THAT HAVE BECOME DENSE CLUMPS 



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EPARATING 

 perennial 

 clumps into 

 many pieces 

 to increase the 

 stock is just about 

 the simplest thing 

 imaginable. Yet 

 people are afraid to 

 do it! A curious 

 thing is this fear 

 that some folks 

 have — they are 

 afraid that they will 

 lose their plants. 

 Of course the fear 

 ought to be the 

 other way around. 

 There are a few 

 perennials — not- 

 ably the peony, 

 fraxinella, bleeding 

 heart, and Japanese 

 anemone that 

 ought to be let alone 

 for a matter of 

 some years, but as 

 a rule separation 

 becomes necessary 

 whenever a clump 

 is so large that it is getting rootbound, 

 and desirable whenever it grows beyond 

 its allotted space. 



In the few cases where a spade is abso- 

 lutely necessary — the Siberian iris, purple 

 loosestrife and "live forever," for instance 

 — there need not be the slightest hesitancy 



to cleave the roots with that implement ; no 

 damage will be done, ugly as the wound may 

 look. Generally speaking, however, there is 

 nothing like one's two hands for the job. 



The best rule, after digging up the clump, 

 is to shake off part of the soil in the hole 

 just made and then figure out the most 

 natural way of division. One plant, say 

 aconite, will separate itself readily, directly 

 the soil is loosened; another will fall into 

 small clumps if the fingers pull the roots 

 apart at what seems the weakest points, 

 or again a mere break of the lump of soil 

 here and there will do the trick. 



Whenever possible, it is well to grasp the 

 crowns firmly in the fingers of both hands, 



Unless a larger effect is 

 desired at once, hardy 

 chrysanthemums should 

 be separated into single 

 bits. This will bloom the 

 "first year and become a 

 goodsized plant the next 



Some plants separate naturally into little clumps 

 like this directly the soil is loosened 



When separating hardy primluas grasp the crowns with the finger and pull apart with a sidewise move- 

 ment, so as to disturb the roots as little as possible 



179 



Hardy primulas should be separated to a single 

 crown like this. Long roots of this kind should be 

 spread out when planted 



to avoid breaking the stems and also to 

 keep the root injury down to a minimum. 

 Sidewise pulls are the safest. In the case 

 of plants having a crown with long straight 

 roots - — such as the hardy primulas of the 

 primrose, polyanthus and cowslip types — 

 this is even essential, as there is no other 

 way to prevent serious damage to the tan- 

 gled roots. These hardy primroses and also 

 the hardy chrysanthemums should be separ- 

 ated every two years or so, as the crowns 

 multiply rapidly. 



Peonies, irises, phloxes, and such like 

 strong, bold growing plants develop a grow- 

 ing beauty and richness of effect as they 

 increase in size — that is to say, as their 

 clumps become larger. But there is a limit 

 to this line of development. After a certain 

 time, division or separation becomes neces- 

 sary. Just when this may be is a matter for 

 individual judgment, in connection with the 

 soil and general conditions. Such plants 

 develop year by year in an almost circular 

 clump of increasing circumference. All the 

 newer growth is toward the outside and 

 ultimately a practically inert centre devel- 

 ops; when this has happened it is high time 

 to divide, which may be done in the most 

 simple way, as has been said, by merely 

 chopping up with a spade. It is as well 

 at this time to carry the chopping process 

 a little further and chop off any manifestly 

 ancient remnants of root or rootstock that 

 have served their purpose or are too hard 

 and woody to take on fresh active growth. 



Barring a few plants, I have no rule as 

 to the time of separation but I prefer the 

 spring to the autumn. Once in a while I do 

 it in summer without apparent detriment. 



