Best way to divide a woodland geranium to get the most plantlets?

9 years ago

I have a woodland geranium (not a pelargonium) that has spread to about a 4 foot diameter. I donÃ¢ÂÂt know itÃ¢ÂÂs name, but it is very full, making almost a low canopy, which is why I think it would make a great groundcover . Not a sprawler like G. sanguinea. Flowers are a bight rich pink.

It is overgrowing the hosta bed where I have it, and I would like to take offsets and place them in a problem shady area under some tall spruces where I can't get grass to grow. Light conditions are about the same where it is now, and the new location. I would be using it as a groundcover.

I have never divided anything like this. I believe (correct me if I am wrong) that I can more or less pull off branches from the outside, moving in, till the plant is back at the size where I want it to be in its original location, then plant the plantlets I have pulled off, spacing them out in the large new area? I am not good at digging up to divide, I have foot problems that make cutting a plant with a shovel painful. Thanks for your help.

Comment (1)

User
9 years ago
You might find using 2 forks, back to back (but slightl;y overlapping at the times), pushed into the centre of the plants then forced apart, works well to separate recalcitrant clumps of rootage. Smaller plants can be divided with trowels. This works well for me with fibrous rooted plants. However, if yours is geranium maccrorhizum, you can indeed root the sidestems in your preferred way (I like to put 4 or so in a litre pot of chick-grit and loam and leave in the greenhouse until spring) although, to be honest, I find this works better to take the cuttings earlier in the season before the stems start to get a bit gnarly...... I find it quite tricky to stop later geranium cuttings from rotting off unless I give them some bottom heat (and of course, I don't).
I think some people will plant the cuttings directly in the garden, often under cloches or jars.......
Related Professionals
Cottonwood Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Americus Landscape Contractors · Azalea Park Landscape Contractors · Fairview Landscape Contractors · Goodlettsville Landscape Contractors · Hawaii Landscape Contractors · Hoover Landscape Contractors · North Chicago Landscape Contractors · Palm Beach Gardens Landscape Contractors · Red Oak Landscape Contractors · Siloam Springs Landscape Contractors · Suitland Landscape Contractors · Chicago Ridge Roofing & Gutters · Norton Roofing & Gutters · Wheaton Roofing & Gutters