Growing hostas can be a lot of fun for a gardener because this parenial plant is hardy, thrives in the shade, and requires very little care. Plants that are large enough will take up a lot of space in the garden. Luckily, hostas are also easy to share to make the perfect gift for friends and family, or even to sell.
Step
Step 1. Choose the right time
While many gardeners prefer spring to transplant and divide plants, it actually has a negative effect on plants, especially those in hotter climates. Hostas are best divided in late summer and early fall, approximately 4 weeks before the first frost. However, hostas are fairly hardy plants and can be divided at any time during the growing season if you are careful when replanting them, and watering and sprinkling mulch (such as straw, sawdust, husk, or leaves) on the divided clumps. In addition, compact the soil around the root tissue so that the plant does not degenerate easily and can grow well.
Step 2. Prepare the right equipment
If the soil forms large lumps (such as 25 cm below the plant), use a ground fork with a flat blade and a shovel or shovel. If the soil is loose with humus and the plants are small enough, just use a machete with a sharp serrated blade. Hacksaws are also very useful for splitting large chunks of earth. Some people prefer to use water that is sprayed from a garden hose or a large bucket of clean water.
Step 3. Dig or dig up the soil around the hosta clump as far as 10 cm from the base of the plant in a small clump; and as far as 35 cm from the base of the plant in very large clumps
Once you've made a digging circle around the clump, poke a shovel under the roots and lift it above the soil level. Or remove the clump from the ground using a fork.
Step 4. If you have no experience with dividing hostas or other perennial plants, clean the soil of the root tissue to help see the individual plants and their rhizomes (where the roots grow)
Also, clean the roots if you don't know how the individual plants grow. Cleaning the roots will also reduce the risk of incorrect cutting, especially if this hosta variety is slow growing and expensive. You don't have to worry about water damaging the roots because hosta roots are quite strong.
Step 5. If possible, especially if the hosta clump is not very large, separate individual plants by hand, i.e. by separating the stems with your thumb and pulling them apart
To separate a plant from the parent clump, pull it back and forth, do not twist. Hold the parent clump with one hand and take the individual plants you want to separate with the other. Pull the hosta back and forth until the rhizome breaks from the parent clump. The plant will break by itself on the rhizome book. Even if there are some broken stems, the remaining rhizome is still enough to plant a new and healthy clump.
Step 6. If the clump is very large, use a serrated kitchen knife to cut the hosta
You can cut the clump to different sizes, such as dividing it in half, one third, or even a quarter.
Step 7. Start by spreading the roots to determine where to cut the rhizomes
Keep as many hosta roots and leaves as possible by cutting the rhizomes, not the roots. Start by dividing the hosta clump in half. If you're careful, you can walk along the stems of the plant. If the clump is very large, it will be easier to divide the clump in half without worrying about the stems being cut off because the clump is very large anyway.
Step 8. If possible, part the clump and don't break it off, then see if you can pull it out by hand
Use the back and forth technique. To separate them, hold each piece with one hand, then carefully twist it in the opposite direction. Pull back and forth with more force. Simultaneously, add more force to pull that part of the clump away from the rest. If you can't separate them, cut the clumps deeper.
Step 9. Remove any sand and small rocks around the cut so you can better see the growth of the plant stem and know exactly where to cut or pull out
Step 10. Use a hacksaw to cut the hosta clump at an angle
However, be careful not to get the saw caught. To prevent this, pull the clumps away from each other, either by hand or with another garden tool. This step is especially important if the clump is very large and the saw is stuck deep into the clump.
Step 11. Remove some large, old leaves, or prune the leaves before the hosta clump is divided, to reduce water evaporation and minimize plant shock
Step 12. Plant the shared hosta
Do not think that a small plant will not grow. Hosta is very tough. So, just plant these small parts along with the larger plants.
Step 13. Don't let the roots dry out
If you can't plant them right away, cover the hosta roots with moist soil or peat moss and keep the plant out of direct sunlight. Keep the plant in a dark place especially if you live in a hot climate.
Step 14. If some of the hosta's roots dry out before planting, soak the hosta in a bucket of water for 2 to 12 hours
Do not leave the plant in water for more than a day as the roots will begin to rot.
Step 15. For clumps that are divided by pulling by hand, plant hostas that have good root distribution at their original height so that the base of the stem is just below the soil and is not visible
When the roots have been washed and there is not much soil left, make a large enough hole and spread the root tissue in a fan shape. Bury the roots and press the soil around the plant with your hands, then water plenty of water to prevent any air pockets in the soil.
Step 16. If you are using a knife or saw to cut the clump, plant the hosta to the same height as before or a little deeper (1 - 3 cm) then water it generously
Step 17. Keep the newly divided plant moist and not dry for the first two weeks
Tips
- Don't just share a hosta in the next few years.
- Newly planted hostas need 2.5 cm of water per week.
- Water the newly planted hosta well, especially if the plant is divided in the summer.
- Watering will minimize shock to transplanted plants and stimulate new root growth.
- If you divide the hostas in the fall, the plants will face or are mostly about to enter a period of dormancy, but are still in the root growth phase. So dividing the plant this fall has the least risk.
- Add a 5 cm layer of mulch around the plant.
- For fast growing hostas, in 3 or 4 years the plant will have formed a large clump and can be divided well.
- Give the spacing between new plants as far as 60 cm. For small hostas, leave a distance of about 40 - 60 cm, while for larger ones, leave a distance of about 60 - 80 cm.
- Hosta plants you can sell. You can make money from this one hobby.
- The larger and denser the hosta clump, the more difficult it is to divide.
