By Tamara Galbraith

Here's a basic primer on how to divide some of your perennials. Don't neglect this fall duty; it's nature's way of giving you free plants!

Just like pruning, dividing should be done in the season opposite of planting, i.e., spring flowering = fall dividing and vice versa. Try to plan your dividing project for a cloudy, slightly cooler day with a good chance of rain thereafter.

Most perennials should be divided every three to five years. However, some, like columbines, poppies and euphorbias shouldn't ever be divided, even if they start to clump. Don't divide woody plants like lavender, rosemary or the bigger artemesias either.

Before starting your division project, thoroughly water all plants to be divided a day or two before you dig in. Likewise, prepare planting holes for the new divisions so they aren't languishing (and drying out) above ground for too long. You can also pot up divisions to build up size, overwintering pots in a protected environment. Make sure your tools are clean and, more importantly, very sharp.

Use a sharp pointed shovel or spading fork to dig down deep on all four sides of the plant, about 4 to 6 inches away from the plant. Pry underneath and lift the whole clump to be divided. If the plant is very large and heavy, you may need to divide it right in the ground with a sharp shovel before lifting the new sections out.

Shake or hose off loose soil and remove dead leaves and stems. This will help loosen tangled root balls and make it easier to see what you are doing. Depending on the root system, divide your plants as follows:

• Spreading root systems that have just a mess of disorganized roots include such plants as asters, bee balm, lamb’s ear, purple cornflowers and many other common perennials. Some can get out of control unless you divide them frequently. Luckily, they can usually can be pulled apart by hand, or cut apart with shears or knife. Divide the plants into clumps of three to five vigorous shoots each. Toss the center of the clump into the compost pile if it looks like it's run its course and is weaker than the outside edges.

• As the name suggests, clumping root systems originate from a central clump with multiple growing points and usually have thick fleshy roots. This group includes astilbes, hostas, daylilies and many ornamental grasses. A sharp knife is handy with these guys, as it is often necessary to cut through the thick crowns to separate the divisions. You can also pry apart these roots with two digging forks held back to back. Make sure at least one developing eye or bud exists on each division.

• Rhizomes are stems that grow horizontally at or above the soil level. Irises are the most common perennial with this type of root system. Divide irises any time between a month after flowering until early fall. Cut and discard rhizome sections that are one year or older and/or showing signs of disease and insect damage. Iris divisions should retain a few inches of rhizome and one fan of leaves, trimmed back halfway. Replant with the "shoulders" of the rhizome showing above soil level.

• Tuberous roots, like dahlias, should be cut apart with a sharp knife. Every division must have a piece of the original stem and a growth bud attached. After division they can either be replanted or stored for spring planting.

Silly as it sounds, dividing is probably my favorite fall gardening chore. When you dig up one daylily and all of a sudden it becomes four...well, for an avid gardener, that's like a magic show and a birthday gift all rolled into one!

The sage (Salvia) family is one of the most adaptable, dependable and beautiful species of perennials for home gardens. Sages are closely related to the mint family and can be grown as herbs and ornamental plants. They can be found naturally in almost every country in the world.

In addition to the natural beauty of sage, many also have a medicinal attribute to them. (The name "salvia" comes from the Latin word "salvare," meaning "to heal.") Indeed, many varieties are highly regarded for their healing qualities. The ancient Greeks used it to treat ulcers and snake bites.

The Romans considered sage a sacred herb and followed an elaborate ceremony when harvesting it. They also used sage for toothpaste, and believed it to be good for the mind and senses.

More important today, however, is the beauty that sage can add to your home landscape. Most flowering varieties bloom reliably from spring through fall and come in a vast array of colors. They require very little maintenance, have only moderate water and fertilizer requirements and virtually no pest problems.

Sage plants also attract plenty of wildlife--including hummingbirds, butterflies and many beneficial insects--to the garden. We stock a great selection of salvia and invite you to visit us throughout the year as different species become available.

Many gardeners give up on their roses in the summer, believing they produce quality flowers only in the spring. Rose blossoms do tend to be smaller in the summer and the colors not quite as vivid because the summer heat forces the blooms to open before blossom size and color pigment have completely developed. But given the proper care, combined with a few simple pruning techniques, roses will re-bloom every six weeks until the first frost.

There are two ways to prune roses during the growing season, and both will encourage new blooms to set. Most roses have leaflets (with three to seven leaves) every couple of inches along the stems. In order to produce blooms you need to prune at least to the second five-leafed leaflet. (Pruning just above will eliminate nasty dead stems called coat hangers.)

If you also want to prune for size control, you can go as far down as two leaflets above the previous cut. Pruning beyond the previous cut tells the rose you don't want it to bloom. Remember that hybrid tea and grandiflora rose stems tend to grow at least 18 inches after each pruning before blooming, so if you prune only the minimum amount you will have a very tall (and possibly leggy) rose by the end of summer.

Because roses are constantly growing, they are in constant need of food. It's important to feed roses every 6-8 weeks with a quality rose food like Dr. Earth Rose & Flower Fertilizer 5-7-2. Continue feeding through September, and you will have quality rose blooms into fall. So don't give up on your roses. With a little help, they will provide loads of blooms for you all season long.

In the Kitchen Garden:

1. Hoe regularly to keep down weeds.
2. Lift onions and shallots as they become ready.
3. Continue to thin vegetables sown earlier.
4. Give plants that need a boost a dose of a quick-acting fertilizer.
5. Sow cabbages for spring use.
6. Pinch out the growing tips of runner beans when they reach the top of their support.
7. Pay regular attention to outdoor tomatoes.
8. Continue to harvest herbs regularly.
9. Summer prune cordon and espalier apples if you have not already done so and if shoots are mature enough.
10. Tidy up summer-flowering strawberries. Cut off old leaves and unwanted runners, remove straw, and control weeds.
11. Protect fruit against birds if they are troublesome. A fruit cage is ideal.

The Flower Garden:

1. Deadhead plants in borders and containers regularly.
2. Feed plants in containers to keep the blooms coming.
3. Hoe beds and borders regularly to keep down weeds.
4. Take semi-ripe cuttings.
5. Clip beech, holly, hornbeam and yew hedges, and most evergreen hedges, if you have not already done so.
6. Plant spring-flowering bulbs.
7. Take fuchsia and pelargonium cuttings.
8. Sow hardy annuals to overwinter.
9. Plant lilies.
10. Clear summer bedding and prepare for spring bedding plants.
11. Continue to watch for pests and diseases on roses and other vulnerable plants.
12. Disbud dahlias and chrysanthemums as necessary.

My orchid's roots are bulging out of the holes in my container. Do I need to re-pot it?

Answer:
Probably. Although orchids like to be somewhat crowded in their container homes, most orchids need to be repotted once every 1 to 2 years. The bark or moss that the orchids are grown in gradually deteriorates. If repotting is not done, the bark or moss becomes decomposed and packed down. When this happens, the roots don't get properly aerated and drainage can become blocked, leading to root rot.

Ideally, orchids should be repotted immediately after flowering. For best results, orchids should be grown either in sphagnum moss or a fine-medium orchid bark mix, such as Gardener's & Bloome Orchid Bark. You can also combine the two. Orchids do not grow well in soil, because that is not how they grow normally. Most are found in the tree canopy high above the jungle floor. Make sure your new orchid pots have good drainage.

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