Dividing Perennials for a Healthier Garden Next Year
Dear Friend,
There’s a certain kind of light in early September — you’ve seen it — that tells the gardener’s heart the season is shifting. It’s softer now, less brash than July’s glare, and it falls across the hillsides in a way that feels like the land itself is exhaling. Here in Asheville, the dog days are behind us, and the mornings have that faint coolness that makes the steam from your coffee curl just a little higher. The hummingbirds are still darting about like they’re late for something, but the goldenrod is beginning to shine in the meadows, and the first asters are peeking open along the edges of the pasture.
It’s a season of generosity in the garden — tomatoes are still offering up their last sweet fruits, beans keep producing if you’ve been faithful with the picking, and the flowers… well, this is when they show their gratitude for all your summer care. But it’s also a season of reckoning, and that brings me to the subject of today’s letter: dividing perennials.
Now, I know that for some folks, “dividing” sounds like a kind of violence — splitting apart something you’ve worked so hard to nurture. But in truth, it’s an act of kindness. Perennials, much like us, can get a little crowded over the years. Their roots tangle up, their centers grow tired, and they start to bloom less. Dividing perennials isn’t just about keeping your garden beautiful — it’s about giving the plants (and yourself) a fresh start.
The Timing of Division
In the mountains, timing is everything. We don’t go by the strict calendar so much as we go by the feel of the season. Early September is perfect for dividing most spring- and summer-blooming perennials because the heat has backed off, the soil is still warm, and there’s enough growing season left for the roots to reestablish before winter.
I’ve always said, “Don’t split your plants when they’re hungry.” Divide them when they’ve had a good growing season, when the soil still has some warmth, and when rains are more regular. In our part of the world, that’s late summer into early fall — just when the morning fog settles low over the valleys and you can smell the damp leaves starting to turn.
Why We Divide
In our gardens, many perennials will tell you when it’s time to divide:
The center of the clump starts to die back, leaving a donut-shaped ring of growth.
Flowering has diminished over the past year or two.
The plant is encroaching on its neighbors like an overfriendly cousin at a family reunion.
You simply want more of that plant to fill in other spaces (or to gift to a neighbor — the true mountain currency).
Liriope, daylilies, echinacea, bee balm, hostas, black-eyed Susans, asters, phlox — they all benefit from this practice. Even some native grasses, like little bluestem or switchgrass, appreciate a reset every few years.
The Tools and the Soil
I like to keep things simple. A good, sharp spade or garden fork will do for most divisions, though I’ll reach for my hori-hori knife when I’m feeling precise. Always clean your tools before you begin — in a propagation nursery like ours at Unicorn Farm, sanitation is non-negotiable. It keeps diseases from spreading and ensures the new divisions have the best start possible.
The soil here in Asheville varies — some folks have that beautiful loam, others wrestle with red clay that holds onto water. Either way, before you divide, give the bed a good soaking the day before. It makes digging easier and less traumatic for the roots.
How to Divide
Lift with Care
Use your spade or fork to dig all the way around the plant, giving a generous margin so you don’t shear off too many roots. Wiggle it loose like you’re coaxing a sleepy child out of bed.Shake and See
Gently shake or wash away some of the soil so you can see the root system. This is when you get a sense of the plant’s health — fat, white roots mean it’s thriving; dark, mushy ones might mean rot, and those bits should be cut away.Split and Share
Depending on the plant, you can pull it apart with your hands (hostas and daylilies are obliging that way), slice through with a sharp knife, or wedge the fork tines back-to-back to tease the clump apart. Aim for divisions with at least three to five strong shoots each.Replant with Gratitude
Set the divisions into their new spots right away — this isn’t the time to let them languish in the sun. Backfill with a mix of native soil and compost. Here, I favor leaf mold compost; it’s a gift from the forest floor and feeds the soil with a slow, steady hand. Water deeply to settle them in.
What to Do With the Extras
And oh, there will be extras. That’s the beauty of dividing perennials — your abundance multiplies. Around here, it’s tradition to share divisions with neighbors or to pot them up for a fall plant sale. In our nursery, we’ll often heel them in along a shady edge until they’re ready for market. I’ve been known to trade a clump of daylilies for a jar of honey or a bag of apples.
Looking Ahead
If you take the time this September to divide your perennials, come next spring you’ll have stronger, more vigorous plants — and the satisfaction of knowing you’ve done right by them. You’ll also have the joy of seeing your handiwork in other gardens, perhaps along a neighbor’s path or edging a friend’s vegetable patch.
Here at Unicorn Farm, we carry forward the gardening traditions of those who came before us, adapting them for a changing climate and new challenges. Dividing perennials isn’t just maintenance — it’s a way of keeping those traditions alive, of tending not only to plants but to the relationships that weave us together in this community.
So go on — grab your spade, find a cool morning, and see what treasures your garden is ready to share.
Yours in the garden,
Logan Turner
Unicorn Farm Nursery & Landscaping
Helping Asheville grow, one rooted tradition at a time.