Revive crowded clumps and multiply your plants for free. Here's how to divide perennials in autumn.
Created by jflgardens.co.uk
When established perennials crowd themselves and grow with a bare centre, they flower less. The answer is to divide them — and while you are at it, you multiply the plants, filling your borders with fresh clumps for free.
Most perennials let you know when they need dividing: the clump grows too large for its space, the centre begins to die out, or flowering slows. Autumn is ideal, while the soil is still warm and the plant is moving into its dormant season and is easy to handle.
Use a fork to lift the whole clump and shake off the old soil. Then, with your hands or the blade of a border spade, split it into several healthy sections, each with plenty of roots and shoots to grow on.
Replant quickly into freshly prepared, weed-free soil, at the same depth as the plant grew before and in the same kind of position. Space the sections generously so each can grow back into a fine plant, then firm and water them well after planting.
Water the new divisions through their first autumn and keep the soil clear of weeds until they settle. Any spares you do not use make fine gifts, new plants for another corner of the garden, or extras to share with a neighbour.
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