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Divide
& Plant |
| Spring-blooming
Perennials |
Spring-blooming
perennials like clivia, daylily, ginger and iris grow in clumps with
large thick stems or rhizomes. To encourage blooming, keep them
healthy, strong and looking nice, they must be divided. Be sure to
water the day before dividing.
Clivia don’t mind being rootbound, but if left alone, drainage
becomes a problem. If they are in pots, cut around the pot with a
knife, lay it on its side and use water pressure on the drain hole
to loosen the roots. To remove from the pot, hold the stalks close
to the roots and pull. Separate the stalks with a knife and trim
some of the excess roots. Replant three rhizomes in an 18-inch pot.
Daylilies won’t bloom if they aren’t divided every three to
five years. Divide by digging up the clumps and shaking or knocking
off the soil. Pry the clumps apart using two garden forks back to
back. Make sure each section has a shoot that will grow up and roots
that will grow down. Cut back the roots and trim the leaves to four
inches. Work in amendments, bone meal and fertilizer to a depth of
12 inches. Replant 12 to 18 inches apart with roots lying unbent
over a cone in the bottom of the hole.
Ginger needs to be divided when blooms decrease. Make sections
eight inches or larger by slicing through the rhizome with a spade
or sharp knife. Trim off damaged roots but not the leaves or stalks.
Bury roots completely with the rhizome just below the surface of the
ground in humus-rich soil.
Bird of Paradise, gazanias, ivy geraniums, lily turf and Shasta
daisies can also be divided now. |
| Iris |
Irises
need to be divided every three years to continue blooming. If you
didn’t divide them last year, do it by this year.
To divide, gently dig up the entire clump, shake, then rinse all the
soil off the rhizome. Each division should have one, 2 to
6 inch section of with some healthy roots attached. Throw away the
old center that has no leaves and anything that may have rotted or
been attacked by pests. Trim off the fan tops at near right angles.
The outside leaves should be about 2 to 3 inches high (from the
rhizome) and the center point four inches higher than the sides. Cut
off about one third of the roots and dip them in a fungicide. Let
them dry in the sun for a couple of hours while you prepare an area
that gets at least six hours of full sun. Work some bone meal and
compost into the soil. Dig a hole about 4" deep and 8"
wide with a mound in the bottom so the rhizome can rest on top
letting the roots flow unbent over the sides. Irises grow in the
direction of each fan of leaves so point the leaves out from the
center. Cover the roots with soil and firmly pack it down. The
rhizome should run level with the ground. Make sure to replant on
the same day, three to a clump. Mulch and water thoroughly. Keep
damp until well rooted. |
| Gladioli |
Cut
the stems of gladioli when they have withered. Dig the corms up,
remove most of the soil and let them dry in the sun for several days
and they will separate easily. Discard all but the new smaller corm,
called a cormerl, which you can plant later this winter. To prevent
thrips, soak the corm for six hours in a gallon of water with mixed
with 4 teaspoons of Lysol. Then, remove and let them dry. Roll the
dried cormerl in a bulb dust and pesticide, and store in a cool dry
place. |
| Amaryllis |
Divide
after they finish blooming early this month. They must be divided
before new roots start to grow or they won’t bloom for several
years. So if it’s been rainy, wait until next year. |
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