Propagating Your Garden

There are many ways to increase the plants in your garden without spending money. If you have a neighbor, ask if they have any cuttings you can have. You can also visit a garden club and see if anyone there has anything available. I am sure if you start asking around, you can get something you can plant in your yard without spending money!

Perhaps the easiest way to propagate your garden is to divide up your own plants. This works really well with spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, lilies or irises. Dividing plants isn't difficult. Nor does it take a lot of effort. In this post I will show you how to divide up hostas.

I wanted to divide up my hostas for the past two years but always seem to miss the opportunity to do so. (The best time to divide up hostas is in early spring before too many of the leaves are showing.) The grouping of the plants had gotten so large that the leaves were up against the house last summer and didn't drape well. The bottom line is they looked ugly and I knew it was time to move them. 

To start, dig a circle around the plant and gently pull up with a shovel. (This works best after it rains.) You want to take quite a bit of soil with the plant. Try not to cut off too many roots either.

With the shovel, find a natural divide and cut the plant in half (or quarters or into as many pieces as you want.) It is ok if some of the pieces are cut in half. You can just toss them in the compost pile.

When digging the hole for the new pieces, be sure to plant them at the same level as the original. Back fill with dirt. (The leftover piece at the bottom of the picture will be planted elsewhere.)

Add the mulch and you are done!

Total time from start to finish: 20 minutes! 

What an easy way to increase the beauty of your garden!