This is a nice quart-size hens and chicks (
Sempervivum) from Glover Perennials which I want to divide to get a lot of smaller plants. I've taken it out of the pot (one little plant broke off in the process so it has already been planted.
Here is a close-up of the root ball--this is an excellent early-season pot, with a rich dark, fairly loose organic growing medium and roots showing to the bottom, but not root-bound. Basically, you tease this apart and the little hens and chicks can be snapped off and replanted. If you find one that doesn't yet have roots, leave it attached (the attachment is about pencil-lead think, usually about an inch long, and is tough enough if you're gentle) to one that does have roots (usually a larger one). I fill the pot about half full and hold it at an angle so the soil surface is diagonal to the top of the pot. I then lay the little plant on the slanted surface, holding the plant slightly above the dirt, and add dirt to the pot, turning it upright and shaking gently as I do so. This results in roots facing down and the plant nicely settled in the pot.
Once the pots are done (I use recycled Proven Winner pots and trays a lot because they're light-weight, handy and I get them free from work when we plant up our flower boxes). You'll note there are several pots with two "hens" (one hen and one chick?) and I replanted a cluster of about five back in the pot they came in. This I'll use as a "mother" plant, meaning, as it sends out more small plants, I'll re-pot those to add to the garden. I never divide and plant directly in the garden as it is a stressful operation and I can monitor growth, watering and exposure to sunlight much easier with a tray of plants than in the garden itself. Oh, and, yes, I labeled them after I took the above shot!
I also divided some nice #2 size Karl Foerster Reed Grasses and hope to get those pictures up this weekend.
This is a nice quart-size hens and chicks (Sempervivum) from Glover Perennials which I want to divide to get a lot of smaller plants. I've taken it out of the pot (one little plant broke off in the process so it has already been planted.
Here is a close-up of the root ball--this is an excellent early-season pot, with a rich dark, fairly loose organic growing medium and roots showing to the bottom, but not root-bound. Basically, you tease this apart and the little hens and chicks can be snapped off and replanted. If you find one that doesn't yet have roots, leave it attached (the attachment is about pencil-lead think, usually about an inch long, and is tough enough if you're gentle) to one that does have roots (usually a larger one). I fill the pot about half full and hold it at an angle so the soil surface is diagonal to the top of the pot. I then lay the little plant on the slanted surface, holding the plant slightly above the dirt, and add dirt to the pot, turning it upright and shaking gently as I do so. This results in roots facing down and the plant nicely settled in the pot.
