Fall can be a great time for planting potted perennials.
Nurseries may have some great deals on them as the growing season winds down, and fall is a good time to get a new plant established before the cold of winter arrives. Fall planting may help blooming plants be ready to bloom in their first season. When planting in the fall, use soil amendments just as you would in spring and be sure to water the plant to help it get off to a good start and during extended dry periods through the winter.
One issue you may encounter at this time of year is a plant that has been sitting in the same pot for months and has become rootbound. For the plant to thrive, you need to loosen those roots that are circling around inside the container before planting.
If the roots have circled inside the container several times and are not even in contact with the soil, gently pull them away from the soil and clip the long ends back so that the remaining roots can be spread out in the planting hole.
Sometimes, the roots have circled around but are still in contact with the soil, and you can see that they have begun to grow in circles inside the pot. In this instance, use a sharp knife to cut into the soil on the sides from top to bottom in a few places. Make the cut deep enough into the soil that you are cutting through the circling roots. This will encourage the roots to grow out and not continue to grow in circles.
You can also press the soil gently to loosen it so that root growth can take place more easily.
You may already have some perennials in your garden that should be divided, giving you additional plants to place in the landscape. Many clumping perennials perform best when they are divided every few years.
Signs that your plant should be divided may be fewer blooms than previous seasons; the middle is dying out, but the plant is healthy around the edges; underperformance because of changes in amount of sun or shade; or spreading plants may be headed for areas where you do not want them, but the plant would work in another area.
If the plants bloom in spring or summer, fall is a good time to divide them, but you may want to leave the fall bloomers, such as asters and mums to divide in the spring.
Begin by working with the plant after a good rain or you have watered to make the soil easier to dig, and a cloudy or cool day is easier on the plant (and the gardener)!
Using a garden spade, loosen the soil around the outside of the plant until you can lift the whole clump out of the ground. If the clump can be pulled apart by hand, great! If not, it can be cut into pieces with a sharp knife or even an axe. Each piece should have good roots and some top growth.
Replant the pieces right away or keep them wrapped in wet newspaper or paper towels to keep them from drying out. The new hole should be deep enough to plant at the same depth as the parent plant and soil amendments should be added and mixed into the loosened soil.
Put the transplant in the ground, water it well and keep watering regularly until the ground freezes.
If you have extra plants, give them to a garden friend.
EJ Adams is a member of the Barry County Master Gardeners, who are trained volunteers with gardening backgrounds ranging from hobbyist to professional, from beginner to experienced, from young adult to senior citizen. The common bond is a love of gardening, learning and sharing.
Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 1 p.m. at the Cassville Library basement meeting room.
