Preferences for division techniques?

17 years ago

I've potted up/planted out quite a few different grasses over the past several weeks, and have a few observations and questions. I'll be dividing a bunch more grasses this fall, and want to experiment a bit.

So far, the only division technique I've used is to dig out the full rootball, hack it into pieces with a sharp tool, and replant or pot up the divisions.

Some of the grasses I got from Parks Wholesale's recent sale were bareroot M.s. 'Gracillimus.' They were advertised as 3" pots, but were obviously recent divisions of larger plants, which had been barerooted. Each piece of crown was the right size for a 3" pot, but the roots were over a foot long.

When doing this type of division, what's the procedure? Do you dig the entire rootball, and wash off all the soil, and then pull off chunks with their attendant roots, or do you cut the divisions from the larger plant, and then rinse off the soil? These bareroots showed no sign of being cut apart, even though they were obviously sections of a larger crown.

The grasses I'll do this fall will be both warm and cold season plants. They're all relatively young, ~18 months old from seed. Is there a better way to divide a warm season grass, or a cold season grass, as opposed to the other?

What's the best way to winter over these new divisions? I can plant them in the ground, in nursery beds, or pot them up and bury the pots, either in soil or in woodchips. Most will go into new locations next spring, so portability is a priority.

What can any of you tell me about root development over the winter? I'm assuming that warm season grasses go at least semi-dormant for the winter, while cold season grasses may continue to grow root during most of the winter. Is this accurate?

Can y'all tell I'm quickly going grass crazy?

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Comments (4)

deep___roots
17 years ago
I'm around the bend for grasses too. My knowledge is limited though.

I divided Karl Foerster and Miscanthus "Kirk Alexander" this Spring. Karl is very easy. Miscanthus are more difficult. But yeah, I just dig up the rootball and use the straight spade. With Miscanthus I couldn't get through the top, I had to get at it from the side. I never tried to wash the soil from the roots...just replanted.

Karl divisions all took. Miscanthus had some failures.

I'm also one of those guys that buys grasses at nurseries in the Winter when they're discounted 40 percent because they're all cut down and scraggly looking...then I divide them. Cheap way to get lots.
Pudge 2b
17 years ago
I've wintered both ways, either in a pot sunk in the soil or planted in a holding bed. Planted in pots sunk in the soil are much, much easier to move in spring.
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achnatherum
17 years ago
Donn,
Why do you want to make divisions of your warm season grasses in the fall?? I have not heard of great results from dividing at this time of the year.

As for division techniques, the grass nursery that I worked for NEVER cut divisions apart no matter how big the clump. Division required strong hands and arms. We would shake the dirt off the root ball (as much as possible) and then pry the grass apart. The prying part got easier as the clumps got smaller. The MAIN reason for using this method was to get every possible division from the clump.
Personally, I advocate cutting the clumps into manageable sized chunks and then pulling them apart. Much faster and much easier on your body.
1 - 2 year old plants should still be fairly easy to pull apart without cutting.
Sorry I can't comment on the bare-root part ~ I have never needed to do this.
donn_
Original Author
17 years ago
I have some folks who want to trade divisions in the fall. Otherwise, I'd wait until spring. Maybe I should just put them off until spring, and not take any chances.