Hostafan is an expert, so will give you chapter and verse, but I carved mine in two with a breadknife and repotted in early spring, just when the new shoots were starting to show. It worked
I think the best time to do it is autumn just after they finish flowering, but if you think they are too overcrowded to go another season, then better do it in Spring. I'd probably wait until the frost risk has passed, just because they are a bit tender and may not like being dug out of their nice warm earth when it's really cold.
“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first”
Chicky, you're too kind. I don't claim to be an expert. I have a lot of them, that's different.
Here in Devon, I do mine any time from now on ( depending on which part of the country you're in , it might be later )
I've found you can be pretty brutal with them. I use a spade on the bigger plants and, like chicky , a bread-knife on smaller plants.
So long as you can see where the new shoots are beginning to appear, you can usually see where they can be split. Once you get started , you'll see a "line" you can chop without damaging the new shoots.
In my experience, which differs from many, they don't like being " potbound ". They're happy with roots filling to the edge of a pot, but I've seen them so tight they're almost climbing out of their pots.
I'd suggest, if your plant is a decent size, you could cut one big chunk, then divide what's left into smaller chunks to they're not all baby sized.
I hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread Terry. I found this pot of Agapanthus in a communal rubbish bin, I could not bear to leave it there!
Rather than split it, I was very apprehensive about doing so, I teased out as much of the roots as I could and gave it some fresh compost in a larger pot. It was fed it with tomato feed as soon as new growth appeared in spring. Here it is summer 2014. I note this winter it has already filled out it's new pot so rather than pot it on again I will split it as has been suggested above. Timely post for me. Thank you.
I tried that once, potted them up and left in a cold greenhouse for the winter. It was a cold winter and they all died! So I don't recommend that. Ever since I have divided in spring which has always worked for me.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
Mine are evergreen Agapanthus,which are less hardy especially here in the NE. I did originally grow then in a sheltered border but lifting them was a nightmare. Since then I've grown them in large pots which I move under an overhang to keep them drier in the winter. When splitting plants I work on the principal of lifting/splitting them in the opposite season to which they flower ie Autumn flowering such as Agapanthus are split in Spring ..it works for me.
Thanks for all the contributions to my question . As I have two pots I think I will divide one up in spring and just re-pot the other into a larger pot and see how we go .
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Hostafan is an expert, so will give you chapter and verse, but I carved mine in two with a breadknife and repotted in early spring, just when the new shoots were starting to show. It worked
My goodness chicky , you were quick off the mark there. But many thanks for the advice .
I think the best time to do it is autumn just after they finish flowering, but if you think they are too overcrowded to go another season, then better do it in Spring. I'd probably wait until the frost risk has passed, just because they are a bit tender and may not like being dug out of their nice warm earth when it's really cold.
Chicky, you're too kind. I don't claim to be an expert.
I have a lot of them, that's different.
Here in Devon, I do mine any time from now on ( depending on which part of the country you're in , it might be later )
I've found you can be pretty brutal with them. I use a spade on the bigger plants and, like chicky , a bread-knife on smaller plants.
So long as you can see where the new shoots are beginning to appear, you can usually see where they can be split. Once you get started , you'll see a "line" you can chop without damaging the new shoots.
In my experience, which differs from many, they don't like being " potbound ". They're happy with roots filling to the edge of a pot, but I've seen them so tight they're almost climbing out of their pots.
I'd suggest, if your plant is a decent size, you could cut one big chunk, then divide what's left into smaller chunks to they're not all baby sized.
I hope this has been of some help.
I hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread Terry. I found this pot of Agapanthus in a communal rubbish bin, I could not bear to leave it there!
Rather than split it, I was very apprehensive about doing so, I teased out as much of the roots as I could and gave it some fresh compost in a larger pot. It was fed it with tomato feed as soon as new growth appeared in spring. Here it is summer 2014. I note this winter it has already filled out it's new pot so rather than pot it on again I will split it as has been suggested above. Timely post for me. Thank you.
Glorious Angie ....and to think someone had chucked it out
I tried that once, potted them up and left in a cold greenhouse for the winter. It was a cold winter and they all died! So I don't recommend that. Ever since I have divided in spring which has always worked for me.
Mine are evergreen Agapanthus,which are less hardy especially here in the NE. I did originally grow then in a sheltered border but lifting them was a nightmare. Since then I've grown them in large pots which I move under an overhang to keep them drier in the winter. When splitting plants I work on the principal of lifting/splitting them in the opposite season to which they flower ie Autumn flowering such as Agapanthus are split in Spring ..it works for me.
Hello everyone .
Thanks for all the contributions to my question . As I have two pots I think I will divide one up in spring and just re-pot the other into a larger pot and see how we go .