Gardening With Allen: Perennials can be divided, moved

Some of my perennial flower plants have become quite large. Is this a good time to divide them or move them to a different location?

Many perennial flowers can be divided or moved to a different location now. However, I would choose a week when the weather is not going to be hot. Avoid moving those still in bloom. Enjoy the bloom and then move them later or next spring.

I am constantly moving my flowers to get just the right combination of heights, colors and bloom times. It seems like I am frequently getting taller ones in front of shorter ones. Then I also want more of those that perform the best and fewer of those that don’t perform as well. I like to have something in bloom from early spring until fall. I use bulbs like daffodils for earliest bloom. They can be planted close among later blooming perennials. I also often use annuals like alyssum and begonias as a border to give additional color.

I like to prepare my new hole where I am going to plant before I divide or lift a plant. That way the roots are exposed to drying air as short a time as possible. Usually, a shovel is the only necessary tool, but a knife or pruner helps cut through large roots.

It is important to plant at the right depth — as near as possible to the same depth as the plant is presently growing. If you make the hole too deep and fill it with loose soil, the plant may sink after watering and end up too deep.

I have a friend whose perennial beds are well established and there is no room for new plants unless something else is removed. She is constantly dividing off plants and placing them in pots. Then she has a plant sale in the spring. She uses the proceeds from the sale to pay for new and exotic plants and supplies.

I wish our garden was as well organized as hers. But I just have to have every new plant that comes along and then find a place for it.

I have started some perennial flowers from seed this year. I love to start plants from seed in my west-facing window. I have supplemental light and a heating pad to get the right temperature for seed germination. I will have plenty of plants to fill in my new beds at a lower price than if I had to buy them all as mature plants.