All the Dirt on Gardening

August is a gardening month when there is either nothing to do but enjoy the garden or an endless list of tasks to accomplish before the leaves fall. An early morning walk around the garden and yard with a pad and pencil can be very productive. Make of note of which trees and shrubs need to be thinned or pruned up, which perennials would benefit from being divided, where the bare spots are, which plants need to be removed, etc. Also on that walk, note the bare spots in the turf and mulch, inspect plants for signs of insect damage, irrigation leaks, fence or deck work to be done, etc. Look for plants such as Hostas that have centers dying and plants that have outgrown the amount of space thought they would need. Consider where pieces of those divided perennials might look good next year. Take a pair of clippers on your walk and remove any dead or diseased twigs. Make a note of limbs or branches that should come out because they are crossing another branch. This is a ...

Fine Gardening Magazine's Janet Macunovich has a terrific column on dividing perennials today. (Read about Macunovich here and here . Don't miss that second link - It's how to access her articles online for $25 at practical gardening institute dot com. ) At the Fine Gardening link, Macunovich provides plant division tips with photos of the process plus videos. The basics she covers include: Divide healthy plants in cool weather, starting at the drip line; keep the diggings cool and moist while you amend the soil; use the healthiest parts as transplants, and, spread them widely enough to establish their own root system Scroll down the page for other helpful videos including how to divide plants with taproots, running roots, woody roots, etc. Keep scrolling to find a list of what to divide when and how. It's everything you need to know in order to rejuvenate older plants. When making divisions for your gardens put a few into pots to give as holiday gifts Click here to ...

The main reasons to divide perennial plants are to make them smaller to fit a space and to create more plants. Division can also help rejuvenate sad and overgrown plants. When the following plants make themselves known this spring, go ahead and divide them. It's a good idea to prepare pots or dig and prepare the new planting hole before you start. That way the roots will be protected and not left in the wind and sun. Aster, Bee Balm ( Monarda ), Blanket Flower ( Gaillardia ) , Blazing Star ( Liatris ), Catmint ( Nepeta ), Chrysanthemum, Coral Bells ( Heuchera ), Coreopsis , Cornflower, Daylily , ( Hemerocallis ), Ferns, Hardy Geranium, Hardy Zinnia ( Heliopsis ), Hosta , Obedient Plant ( Physostegia ), Coneflower ( Rudbeckia ), Ornamental Grasses, Perennial Salvia hybrids, Phlox paniculata , Purple Coneflower ( Echinacea purpurea ), Shasta Daisy, Speedwell (Veronica), Spiderwort ( Tradescantia virginiana ), Stonecrop ( Sedum ), Wormwood ( Artemisia species) and Yarrow ( ...