Hosta are easy to divide, and if you want to do so this spring, you are almost out of time. VH-studio/Shutterstock We were walking through a garden recently when we noticed some baptisia that looked really good, with healthy leaves ready to produce gorgeous blossoms later in the year. My wife and fellow gardener, Nancy, immediately suggested that it was encroaching on its neighbors and that we should dig it up and divide it, moving half to a vacant spot on our property.
When a plant is looking its best, sometimes it’s a good idea to spread that goodness around. Baptisia, which is hardy to Zone 3, is native to the Northeastern United States. Supposedly, it has the common name of wild or false indigo although I’ve never heard anyone use those names.
Its flowers can be purple, blue, white or yellow. It is one of my favorite perennials. Anyway, we are getting toward the end of the best time of the year to dig, divide and transplant perennials.
Done now or earlier, plants have a full season to recover and grow before the winter cold, snow and ice arrive. If you recall last week’s column , officials from Coastal Maine Botanical Garden think they will get at least a few Siberian iris blossoms this year from a transplanting they did in late April. Siberians are among the easiest perennials to transplant, but other irises also are easily divided.
If you miss the spring, the second-best time is just after the plants drop their blossoms. Hosta is among the easiest to dig and divid.
