Dividing ornamentals: Not for the faint of heart

Implements used to divide overgrown Zebra grass

A wheelbarrow load of what was removed

The much smaller Zebra grass is replanted

About a week ago the blog author blithely reminded readers it was time to divide perennials.

Springtime is the best time to do this, of course, because the soil tends to be easy to work. Rainfall is expected on a regular basis. Dividing perennials also means the plants will remain healthy and at a usable height.

So what happens when an ornamental grass has not been divided in many years?

It becomes dead in the middle, and overgrown on the edges. Unsightly.

Dividing such plants is "not for the faint of heart," advises garden experts on YouTube, among other sites. Try an Internet search of "divide Miscanthus," and a number of suggestions will appear. The use of reciprocating saws, DeWalt pavement breaker hammers, are among the implements cited as useful.

In Scott County, Iowa, one determined gardener set up the radio near the worksite, and, armed with a hand saw, sharp long-nosed shovel, and general garden shovel, attacked Zebra grass, overgrown for at least 10 years.

Two hours later, the task was accomplished. Some 8,000 "steps" were recorded on the Fitbit, and a sense of accomplishment was ... Heady.

This is the route taken: Rain had fallen recently and the ground was relatively east to shovel. The roots of the grass were rock hard, however. The process:

1. Trim the grass almost to the ground.
2. Dig a trench around the outside edges, in a circular fashion.
3. Dig into the grass; if impossible, take the hand saw and saw a path about a shovel-length.
4. Repeat as needed.
5. The garden shovel is most useful to upend the grass in large chunks, when feasible.
6. Re-dig a hole, add some nice dirt, and re-plant portions of the grass recently removed. It's possible to find 'good' chunks during the removal process. These were kept wet in a five-gallon bucket, and then replanted.
7. Pray the lovely Zebra grass returns to its glory in the garden.

This process needs to be repeated three more times in the next week to other parts of the yard. The overgrown grasses will never be allowed to go 15 years without being divided.

Helpful website: bluestem.ca; click on 'ornamental grasses'