How to Divide Primroses

When you notice the center of your primroses starting to die out, you can divide them to avoid the costs of replacing them with new ones bought from a nursery. Since primroses bloom during the spring and summer months, you'll need to divide them in the fall.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Cutting tool
• Garden hose
• Hatchet
• Shovel
• Spade
• Soil
• Mulch

1. Dig a circular hole around the perimeter of the primrose plant you want to divide, ensuring that you allow for a radius of at least 3 to 4 inches around the flower.
2. Gently take hold of the plant and lift it out of the ground. Make sure that its roots are completely free and loose before you pull up on it. For added leverage and stability, you can pry the shovel beneath the plant's root system and use it to bring the plant out of the earth.
3. Shake the plant to remove loose, excess dirt. Then, take a garden hose and rinse the roots and crowns of your primroses clean.
4. Cut up the roots and crowns into divisions using a sharp cutting tool. Every new division you make should have at least two nicely formed shoots and plenty of roots on it. Divisions with up to five shoots are ideal, and you should keep a hatchet handy since primrose roots can grow to become very tough to cut.
5. Prepare holes in which to plant your divided primroses. You should aim to plant the divisions at least as deep as the parent plant was when you removed it from the ground. Leave ample room around the sides to give your new plants' roots room to spread as they grow.
6. Replant your root divisions as soon as possible. If you leave them exposed to open air for too long, they'll dry out and possibly die.
7. Water your replanted primroses thoroughly. Divided plants need more water than normal, fully grown plants in order to flourish in their initial stages. Be generous with your watering for the first several days after division.
8. Add mulch to prevent the soil from drying up. Make sure you keep the soil around your new plant moist at all times, and wait until the spring after you've divided your primroses before adding fertilizer.

Tips & Warnings

• Work on a dry, overcast day, if possible. Excess sunlight can actually inhibit the growth of divided perennials. Ideally, you should divide your primroses on a cloudy day when rain is in the short-term forecast.
• Make sure that each divided clump has more roots on it than there are shoots.

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