Video: Dividing Perennials in the fall

My weekly garden columns are done for the season. Don’t worry, they’ll start up again in February. I intend to post more on my blog. You’ll be happy to hear that my newest video is now live on my YouTube channel and I have embedded it below. The topic is dividing perennials in the fall.

Did you know that fall is the perfect time for dividing perennials? That’s because the plants will have the fall and winter to grow new roots. What’s more, they’ll become established before next year’s growing season.

In the video, I tackle dividing some herbaceous peonies that I hadn’t divided for about 20 years! (yeah, I know: I’m a little slow) They really needed it because weedy grasses had established themselves within the base of the plants and I just couldn’t stand it one minute longer! The challenge with weeding around the base of a peony is that you risk damaging or breaking off the “eyes” which are where next year’s blooming stems will come from.

I also tackled some clustered masses of bearded irises, which was long overdue. And I addressed how to go about dividing perennials such as daylilies and sedums. Many of those can be safely divided in the spring as well, but when it comes to peonies, you really need to divide them in the fall.

Hope you enjoy the video! (and watch for a little surprise in the middle of it! Hint: it involves a visitor.)