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A volunteer at the Denver Botanic Gardens showed me how to properly divide my overgrown hostas.
I'd been hacking at the root ball for years, but she demonstrated a clean slice with a sharp spade. Anyone have tips for dividing other perennials like daylilies?
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josephmartin22d ago
Oh nice, but careful with that spade method for everything. I mean, daylilies you can usually just pull the clumps apart with your hands. Slicing through the crown with a tool can damage the growing points.
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jasonf1722d ago
Yeah my buddy learned that the hard way last spring... he went at some overgrown daylilies with a shovel like they were hostas. Ended up with a bunch of sad, single-fan pieces that just sat there all summer. He was so mad he basically gave up on the whole bed. Your point about the growing points is exactly right, @josephmartin. Those crowns are way more fragile than they look. Sometimes the old-school hand-pull method is just better, even if it takes more time.
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