You Can Revive Tired Perennials in February – Divide These 7 for More Blooms and New Plants for Free
The right time to divide does depend on your climate
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Twice a week
Homes&Gardens
The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.
Once a week
In The Loop from Next In Design
Members of the Next in Design Circle will receive In the Loop, our weekly email filled with trade news, names to know and spotlight moments. Together we’re building a brighter design future.
Twice a week
Cucina
Whether you’re passionate about hosting exquisite dinners, experimenting with culinary trends, or perfecting your kitchen's design with timeless elegance and innovative functionality, this newsletter is here to inspire
If you have seen the tell-tale signs of perennial plants starting to lose their vigor, you want to take action. An ideal way to do this is to divide plants, and February offers an opportunity to do so in warm and milder zones.
Division in late winter or early spring is suitable for a wide range of summer-flowering perennials and perennial herbs. If the soil is workable, not frozen or waterlogged, and your plants are just starting to stir from dormancy, the window to divide plants is open. In warm or milder US hardiness zones, this can be the case in February, but gardeners in colder climates are better holding off until at least next month.
1. Hosta
Dividing is the best way to propagate hostas, as seeds rarely come true to type
While the glorious ornamental foliage of hostas, which comes in a range of colors and sizes, makes them popular ground cover plants, loved by gardeners and slugs alike, the plants do need to be divided.
Hosta clumps can get congested over time, and dividing them rejuvenates the plants. So, when you grow hostas, split the clumps every four or five years. It is best to divide hostas in late winter or early spring.
Lift a large clump, then use a sharp spade or knife to split it into sections, making sure each piece has healthy buds and roots. The new divisions need to be planted quickly, whether into the ground or into containers to grow on and plant later in the year.
If you opt to plant the hosta in pots, top the potting mix with slate (you can get chippings of natural slate stone at Amazon) to prevent it from drying out. This sharp texture will also help combat slugs or snails from nibbling the new plants.
2. Daylily
Daylilies can be divided in spring or fall
Daylilies are bright, tough perennials that stun with their large trumpet or star-shaped summer flowers. Each flower may be short-lived, but daylilies can flower for weeks on end.
But the older the clump gets, the more the blooming display will decline. Therefore, to ensure the best display when growing daylilies, they need to be divided every four to five years.
To divide daylilies, dig up the clump with a garden spade or fork and shake the excess soil off. Be aware that, if you haven’t divided daylilies for many years, the clump can become a mass of fibrous roots that may be difficult to split.
A clump can be divided with a sharp spade, two forks (get a strong garden fork at Lowe’s) put back-to-back in the center, or even a pruning saw, depending on the size of the root network.
Each new section must have healthy shoots and roots. Plant the daylily as soon as possible, planting the crown a few inches deep in the soil, and cut back the foliage to around 6-8 inches to reduce moisture loss.
3. Shasta Daisy
Division is the only way you can propagate hybrid shasta daisies
The shasta daisy is named after Mount Shasta in California, and this reliable perennial blooms from early summer to early fall. Known predominantly for its bright white petals, there are some with yellow blooms, and there are many types of shasta daisies in different sizes and with single or double flowers.
Yes, it is a prolific bloomer, but it can’t just be neglected and expected to perform. A clump can get less vigorous over the years, and the center can get sparse. This leads to an unattractive plant with a bare center. To avoid this, dividing shasta daisies every 3-5 years keeps them attractive and healthy.
Cut back shasta daisies to around six inches from the ground to make the division easier. Dig up the plant, separate it into sections, and, if the center is dead, you can get rid of it. Plant the pieces into a sunny spot, at the same depth as they were originally planted.
Mulching around plants with organic matter is advisable to retain moisture, smother weeds, and also fertilize shasta daisies as it breaks down.
4. Phlox
As well as division, phlox can be propagated via plant cuttings
Phloxes vary widely, from tall border varieties to compact ground covers. Here, we focus on border phlox, which are popular in cottage gardens and loved for their clouds of fragrant flowers that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Over time, phlox can become less productive. If you grow phlox and notice fewer blooms each year or see a bare patch in the center of the clump, that's a sign it's time to divide the plants. Ideally, you should divide phlox every 2-4 years to ensure the best display season after season.
Divide plants just as the new shoots for the year are showing. Separate the clump into pieces that have a few shoots and a healthy section of roots. Plant these somewhere in a sunny spot with the crown an inch below the soil level.
An advantage of dividing phlox at this time of year is that each of your new sections should flower this coming summer. Keep the new clumps well-watered and give them a dose of essential nutrients and vitamins, using a product such as SUPERthrive from Amazon, which helps to reduce transplant shock.
5. Yarrow
Wear gloves when handling yarrow, as the foliage can aggravate skin
Yarrow makes a great plant for pollinators; the flat umbels of flowers will attract lots of bees, butterflies, and hoverflies into any flower bed.
While blooms add height and drama, the finely cut foliage brings texture and grace. In addition, it is an easy-to-care-for perennial. Once established, it is somewhat drought-tolerant and doesn't need frequent feeding.
If yarrow starts to get a woody center or outgrows its space, an older clump can be easily rejuvenated via division. Dividing every few years keeps clumps vigorous, stops them from developing bare centers, and rewards you with new sections to plant elsewhere.
6. Chives
You can grow clumps of chives in pots
When you grow chives, there are many reasons to divide them. Not only do you get more chives to harvest for all your culinary needs, but it keeps clumps as productive as possible, and you get new pieces to use for companion planting.
As chives can repel many pests in a vegetable garden due to their strong aroma, planting clumps around the space can keep many unwanted visitors at bay.
Clumps of chives do spread and get congested over time. Not only can it lead to reduced vigor, but also lead to more diseases due to a lack of air circulation. It is worth dividing chives every few years for the healthiest clumps.
And, if you want more chives for your yard, dividing existing sections is quicker than growing new plants from seed.
Lift clumps of chives in late winter or early spring. It can usually be split into sections by hand or cut with a sharp hori-hori knife (get a hori-hori knife at Amazon). Plant the new pieces around the garden and water well to get them established.
7. Mint
There are hundreds of mint varieties for a wide range of uses
Mint has a reputation as a vigorous grower, and for good reason. That is why the common advice is to grow mint in pots to prevent it from spreading and taking over a border.
As mint grows horizontally, putting out new stems, it can leave behind a dead center. So dividing this aromatic herb keeps the clump as vigorous as possible, so you can continue harvesting mint as much as you’d like.
If you want to propagate mint, either to expand your own collection or gift an unusual mint variety to a friend, division is a simple way to do this. The sheer simplicity of dividing mint makes it one of the plants to divide in February.
Empty the container and cut the plant into smaller sections with a pair of pruning shears, with each piece having both foliage and healthy roots. Pot each section into a container filled with potting soil, and it’ll bed down new roots quickly.
Adding more blooms to your yard stretches beyond knowing which plants to divide in February. There is also the opportunity to start both annual and perennial blooms from seed this month. To get you started, this guide to flowers to sow in February reveals seven plants you can start this month to get earlier blooms come spring and summer.
Tools for Dividing Plants
A hori-hori features a stainless steel blade with a serrated edge for dividing perennials and a tapered edge for slicing or digging.
A perennial spade has a shorter handle than a regular spade, at 21.6 inches. It features a pointed head to slice through roots when dividing perennials.
A pruning saw has razor-sharp teeth to cut through the woody roots of perennials. This folding saw has a 10-inch blade that can prune branches 5-6 inches in diameter.
