How to Separate Overgrown Hostas

Hostas are beautiful large leafed plants that surprise you by shooting flowers straight up through their clusters. if your Hostas are no longer flowering or looking as good as they used to, it may be time to thin them out. Large clusters crowd each other and fight and struggle for space and nutrients. Separating these close knit clusters is as easy as grabbing a shovel.

Things You'll Need

• Small shovel
• Gardening gloves
• Mulch or fertilizer (optional)
• Garden hose
• Small flower pots (optional)

Instructions

How to Separate Overgrown Hostas

1. Try to tackle these guys on a morning or evening that is not to hot. You don't want to disturb their roots on an extremely hot afternoon. Hostas like to "settle in" to their new home in reasonably cool weather.

2. Decide where you are going to move the smaller clusters to and get that area prepared first, so that the Hostas are not out of the ground to long. If you aren't sure where you are going to transplant them to, prepare several flower parts for them to rest in until their final destination is decided.

3. Dig around the perimeter of the flowers, staying 6 to 8 inches back from the base of the plant. Continue digging and scooping under the roots. You want to dig the entire plant ball out of the ground, disturbing the roots as little as possible.

4. Use your gloved hands to help finish the delicate digging, and to lift the entire plant out of the ground. Lift the plant from the bottom root ball not by it's leafs or stalks. Once the plant is on the ground, check to see how wet the root ball is. It will separate easier if it is wet. Gently spray the root ball with a garden hose if it needs more moisture to separate easily.

5. 

   Carefully pull sections apart, in whatever size clumps you want to replant. The number of new plants you'll have will depend on how large your original cluster was, and how small of new groupings you want. Once your clusters are separated, replant them as quickly as possible. Dump water into the new hole you prepared. Add mulch and fertilizer if your ground needs it, or you prefer to use it. Set the small plant into it's new home and fill with the dirt. Gently mist the entire plant with water.

6. If you're putting the divided Hosta plants into pots to give to friends, or plant later, be sure to keep them misted with water and set them in a shady spot of the yard if possible.

Tips & Warnings

• Other gardening friends will happily take some of these "offsprings" off of your hands, and remember to return the favor the next time they separate some of their flowers!