I love the beautiful luscious plants that you can grow in the shade, and hostas are some of my favorite. You can find some that grow to be huge, and others that always remain very small. They come in many lovely shades of green with variations in their leaf patterns. I love the cool woodsy feeling they give in my garden. They are also easy to divide so you can spread them around your yard and give starts to your friends.
Transplanting Basics
Whenever you divide or transplant any plant you must remember that timing is absolutely vital. Most plants can easily be moved in the early spring just as they are breaking dormancy but will probably die if they are moved in the summer. When moving or dividing hostas you will want to do it just as you see new growth showing in the early spring. At this point in time you can dig them up and split them with no damage to the plant.
Hostas, like many perennial plants multiply by creating small new plants at the roots. As the clump gets bigger we must realize that the single plant isn’t getting bigger, there are just more plants which makes the mound bigger. These small plants can be divided off.
Don’t move them if they are much bigger than this.
- With a shovel you may dig up the entire plant, or if you see some natural separation in the plant you can place your shovel there and just dig up a part of it.
- If you dig up the entire clump look closely and you will see that there are many individual plants. Sometimes some of them will separate off easily but sometimes they will be so intertwined that you can’t get them apart. If this is the case you can cut them apart with your shovel. It will damage a few of them but usually in a good clump there will be plenty. Place your shovel in a position where you will get entire plants as you cut through. You will want to make sure you get the root as well as the top of the plant. As you make your cut you are not trying to get a single plant but a good-sized group of them.
- Replant your hostas making sure that they are at the same level in the ground as they were growing before, neither deeper or more shallow. I like to pour water into the hole right on the roots so they stay good and moist.
- They may need extra water for a little while while they get re-established.
In the following video I will show you how I divide and transplant a hosta, and also a fern.
For additional examples of propagating and moving plants check out:
Transplanting perennials http://itsjustaproject.com/how-to-transplant-perenials/
Dividing ornamental grasses http://itsjustaproject.com/prune-and-divide-ornamental-grass/
Spring Cleanup http://itsjustaproject.com/spring-cleanup-chrysanthemums-daisies-ornamental-grasses-snow-in-summer-etc/
