Dividing Epimediums

februarysgirl

I'm in the process of lifting my perennials to top up my raised beds and rearrange the planting. I lifted an epimedium yesterday and discovered that underneath the soil, it was actually quite a bit larger than I was anticipating with new growth on its way up. I wasn't expecting it to need dividing just yet (I bought it as a 9cm pot and only planted it Dec '19) so hadn't read up on it. Now that I have, I see that it's supposed to be divided in autumn. Would it still be OK to do now? I was considering buying some more so this would work out quite well.

KeenOnGreen

My rule of thumb is that if anything can be divided in the autumn, then it can probably be done in Spring too.  I know there are exceptions, but we’ve never lost anything.  If dividing in Spring, we normally wait till April, as the ground is warmer and there are less chance of frosts.  

Loxley

Go for it. The only negative with dividing in spring would be the possibility of damaging those new shoots, but if you're careful and don't go for too small divisions, I think it will be fine. 

punkdoc

It would be better to wait until after flowering, which won't be long now.

februarysgirl

KeenOnGreen said:

My rule of thumb is that if anything can be divided in the autumn, then it can probably be done in Spring too.  I know there are exceptions, but we’ve never lost anything.  If dividing in Spring, we normally wait till April, as the ground is warmer and there are less chance of frosts.  

That's actually a pretty good rule. Normally I would leave such things until April but as I need to get a lot of grunt work done asap (I've literally just finished wheelbarrowing 45 bags of topsoil, 3 bags of compost and 9 bags of bark chippings into the back garden) so it's all different this year. I think I shall be putting the divisions in pots first, I have a mini greenhouse to take care of them for a couple of months 😊

punkdoc said:

It would be better to wait until after flowering, which won't be long now.

Looking back at the photographs I took last year, they weren't flowering until late April so it's still a way away. I lifted it yesterday so keeping it bare root for a couple of months isn't an option. Potting it as a whole is possible but not massively practical so would rather avoid it if I can.