Daily Archives: May 10, 2013

How to Split Perrenials

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Hello Everyone! Now is a good time to get in the gardens and split some perennials. I took this picture of the flowers on my friends Magnolia tree. It is simply gorgeous. Don’t you just love spring when everything is beginning to look green and spring flowers are everywhere. It is a very beautiful world we live in!

We decided to move some Lilly’s they tend to multiple quite quickly. First we got the area we are transplanting them in prepped so the little guys won’t be out of the environment too long.

cancuun and project 010    Prepped area!

We have a huge are of day Lilly that we are going to thin out. First of all you are going to need a Garden pitch fork, Shovel and gloves (see pictures below)

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Isn’t my girlfriends garden beautiful?!

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Pitch fork! Using 2 of them back to back is the best way to split the roots without breaking them. 

Yep this is me playing in the dirt!

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First you want to shove your fork in underneath the plant and try to loosen the clump from all sides then you want to gently pop it out of the ground.

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Once it is out of the ground, you can either pull it gently apart or use the forks to separate them into 2 or 3 individual plants. For Hosta’s that don’t separate as easily I use a spade shove and just cut them in half or thirds. It is actually healthy for the plant because then they don’t get deceased or root bound and die.

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Lilly’s do not require a very deep hole, dig a nice deep hole so you have some nice loose dirt in the bottom for the roots to take. 

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Place your plant in the hole and start covering it with dirt. If it is really hot you may want to water it at the base to help it along.

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Voila! you are all set!  Of course they won’t be the only things we add in here. These lilies get pretty tall and will provide a beautiful back drop for the lower plants we will be adding in the front. As you are transplanting keep in mind the amount of sun the need. Splitting perennials is best done in the spring before the plant flowers and fall after the plant flowers (if they flower). For fun, I will try to update you in a future article just to show you how beautiful this area will be by the time we get it all planted and mulched. Speaking of much, it is a pretty in expensive way to keep the weeds down as well as keeping moisture in over the plant. It looks great too! 

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I also wanted to share this beautiful plant with you it is a Crown plant she had in her garden and I was amazed with the color and how large the flower is and how tall it stands. I have never seen one before so it was exciting to learn about something new. It looks like something from the tropics. I find it really cool that it is a perennial that can reside here in Michigan. 

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Hope you guys enjoy the weather and have fun in the garden. God blessed us with all these beautiful flowers, try to take time out to enjoy. If you have the opportunity this summer take a garden tour. You will be amazed and what you can learn by just participating. I used to volunteer for the Libraries annual garden tour and really help me get started on my own gardens. 

Have a great week! Happy Mothers Day to all the gals out there!

Girl Friday

Mischele Makhlouf