Best time to divide?

I have a number of perennials that need to be divided. They are all in containers. (that's all I have)
Does it make a difference if they are divided in the fall or the spring?
Would the deciding factor be the bloom time? For example, would it be better to divide a spring bloomer in the fall?
In the past I have split my daylilies in the spring with no ill effects so I guess that's OK as far as they're concerned. There are other plants that were given to me in 2006 by a friend that was relocating from NY to CA. EX: Phlox, buddelia, black eye susans, etc. Can they also be done in the spring?
I have some penstamon that REALLY needs to be split. It's WAY too crowded in the pot it's in. That's a spring bloomer. Should I do that in October? Or can it wait?

It looks like I'm heading towards having a totally perennial garden - with some annuals thrown in as fillers.
I don't mind - I'm retired now & on a very fixed income. Anything that keeps coming back is one less plant for me to buy.
When I start dividing, I plan on using the containers that now have annuals.

BTW-we're talking a LOT of pots! I didn't count this year (yet) but last year I had over 160 pots.
Here's a shot of the garden at its peak this year.

Nancy

Wow, Nancy, that's a lot of pots! But what a lovely patio you have, too. I think most perennials can be divided in the fall and my impression is that's really the best time to divide them, but I bow to those with greater knowledge and experience than I.

I would divide the ones that need to be divided right away so they have some chance to reestablish themselves before winter, especially if they spend the winter outdoors, but I've never had potted perennials outdoors, so may not be the best person to answer.

Wow- that is a beautiful garden!

Thanks for the comments.
In the pic, the majority of the pots in the middle are perennials. There may only be about 6 or 7 that aren't. That includes the 4 pots around the pole with the vines.

I may have to wait until spring only because the pots I plan to use are the ones on the right side (next to the fence) that now has annuals.
If I divide the perennials now I'll have to toss the annuals - that are still blooming - out of the pots the perennnials will be planted in. I can't bring myself to yank out blooming plants.
If I wait until the annuals die, it may be too late to divide the perennials.

Then there's the soil issue. I'm going to need more. I also have to repot a couple of trees - chokeberry & red leaf plum - intto larger pots. With funds limited right now, I may have to wait anyway. I've already announced to my family that I don't need clothes or stuff for the house. Right now all I care about is the garden & the birds. So for Christmas, all I want is $$ & gift cards (Home Depot, Lowes, Wild Bird Center, etc)
They're happy. I'm making it easy for them! LOL!

BTW-the pic is part of a weekly shot I take from my bedroom window every Saturday morning. I have been doing this since 2005. I usually start in May & take a pic every week through the beginning of December. This shot is the 1st pic I took in May. Those are all the perennials growing at this point.
You can see the 2008 series here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlf/sets/72157604860857933/

The other weekly updates & garden pics are in the "My Garden" collection here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlf/collections/

Nancy

Gag, I am awed by your collection of photos AND your garden. How wonderful and talented you are. How humbled I am by my pathetic efforts.

I don't know about the wonderful & talented part.
More like sheer dumb luck. People ask me what I feed the plants. FEED? Ummmm...well.... errrr... The truth is, I'll add some Osmocote or something in the spring & never give it another thought again. Sometimes I'll think - Hmmmm. I really should give these guys something. Then something else will come up during the day & I'll forget all about it.

Nancy

Wow! The progression of your garden over the course of the year is spectacular! Who say's you need alot of room to garden? I absolutely love it!

Nancy, I was wishing you would start a thread either here or in container gardening about what you do to prepare your guys for the winter,

Maybe I'll do that.
Lemme think about it for a bit.
Not that it's a whole lot - more clean-up than anything else.
It's more like - do as much as I can now so I won't have to do it in April. LOL!

That's why most of my stuff is for my zone. This way, my lazybone self doesn't have to do too much.
Heh, heh!

We were shocked, our first winter of container gardening with perennials, by the way the plants were fine but the containers were wrecked!

Question - how do you keep these watered and fertilized so well? Gorgeous!

most perennials should be divided in the early spring as soon as the ground is workable and they can be done in the fall except for the daisy family including all flowers that look like daisies example all coneflowers false sunflowers etccc. they should only be done in the spring early

Last fall I divided the Penstemon.
Everything else will be done this spring - probably end of April/beginning of May.
I have a lot of work ahead of me.

NDFarmgirl- It takes me a little over an hour to give everything a thorough watering.
As for feeding - I toss in some Osmocote when I'm first setting things in place or planting... that's usually at the end of May.
After that, they are usually on their own.
Lazy me!
LOL!!!

make sure you do it early so the plants are still dormant as possible less damage to the plant and it will look better and fuller if done early

I divide both spring and fall, depending on when the plant blooms. Spring-bloomers, I divide late summer through fall so I don't lose out on their blooms. All others I divide during spring.

If you don't mind losing blooms, you can divide spring-flowering plants during spring also.

Irises I divide July through August. Daylilies early spring and late summer through fall.
Hardy garden mums---early spring. They will bloom in the fall as usual.

after you are all done deviding your perennials and you have all those plants left over
you could just put them in plastic pots and have a plant sale check out how much they are at the garden center so go with a list and see what size they are so maybe you can plit again to make two or three and sell them a little cheaper than the garden center
and the money can to get something special for your beautifull garden

I just wanted to comment on how beautiful your garden is. It's amazing what you've done with those containers. Looks like an oasis.

here is what happends if I dare to plant something in a pot these things just start to grow and I didnt not plant him

Your container garden is absolutely breathtaking. I have saved the picture to show one of my friends who misses her large garden and now has just a patio.

Wait til she sees this!!

OOOOOOO!
A Squirrel Plant!
LOL!

actually that is a chipmunk petunia lol so cute
here is a pic of him on the railing cute with the tail straight up

gabagoo~ Your garden is breathtaking,and an inspiration!! I got lost for 1-1 1/2 hours looking at your garden - got through 2008, 2007, started 2006 then saw the time and bookmarked it to follow along with you this year and had to go get ready for work! I have NEVER seen anyone utilize the space they have better!! Simply and completely amazing! I hope you take lots of time to sit back with coffee/tea whatever, out there just surrounded by your glorious garden! I will never complain about my small yard again! Never - not after seeing the sensation that you created in your courtyard setting! I love the boxes you put in your pics that tells us what the plants are...sometimes it's hard to tell and I am amazed at all the different types of plants you grow in containers...clearly I need to re-think what can and can't go in a container in my own garden!!!

Ok, I will stop gushing, but you really knocked my socks off! Gabagoo's Glorious Garden was what I named the bookmark I made so I can watch it all unfold this year... :-)

Thank you so much, Jamie!
I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. My mantra is "Anything can be grown in a container!"
Sure, some things may not survive the winter and return the following spring - but they grew and were enjoyed the year they were planted.
I've had a few plants that only survived one season. There have also been times I thought a plant was dead, only to spot new shoots. OK! It lived to see another day! YAY!

Things should be interesting (and crowded) this year. I took part in the Coleus Co-op here at DG and will have 20+ coleus plants! YIKES!
[actually, I ordered 30 - but 10 are for my Mom]
They will be coming at the end of May so I'd better get to planning!

Nancy

I ordered fall mums 48 of them so four of 12 different kinds ( one dollar each) they are so nice blooming from august to the end of october I did that because I will collect the seeds and grow my own after this

since I grow most of my own plants to cheap to buy them

I'm so impressed with your garden!! Do you have a list somewhere of what plants have done well in containers over the winter? I need to go look more at all your photos. Just lovely!

Susan

I guess I really should list the plants that work the best. I'll have to get around to that. one of these days.
The best ones, hands down - Day Lillies!
I don't think ANYTHING can kill them off. They have survived all sorts of weather, served as a comfy nap spot for a stray cat and occassional raccoon. They have been trampled on by raccoons using them to reach the water in the birdbath.
The ones I have originally came from a pot that came with the house. I moved here in Sept, 1997. I divided them in 2000 into 2 pots. I suppose I really should have split them into 3 pots at the time. The 2 pots were divided in 2003. Now I had 4 pots. I gave one to my mother. In 2006 I divided the 3 pots in half, gave 3 "bunches" away - so I still had 3. In 2008 I divided 2 of the pots in half, gave one away and brought a pot to the a Round-Up. I let everyone take whatever they wanted & brought back the empty pot. So right now I still have 3 pots.
So that 1st pot from 1997 went a l-o-n-g way.

Nancy In one word WOW! I love both your photos but the Daylilies really made me take notice. How healthy they look. I belive them to be the everblooming variety Stella D'oro. Am I correct? I have them growing also.

What a nice relaxing place to sit in---surrounded by flowers.

What size pot are the Daylilies growing in?

They are in 16" pots, blomma.
Most of the pots I have are that size. Easier to move around.
Yes, they are Stellas. They start blooming about mid-May and keep going strong untill about mid Aug and take a rest. By the end of Aug they pick up againg and bloom thru Oct/beginning of Nov.
Every morning I do dead-head duty. It really pays off. I get LOTS of blooms.

And you get to visit them. DH loves to dead-head daylilies!

I love to walk around my garden everyday and dead head all the plants and check to see what need to be done it is the best part of the year when everything is green and growing in the garden

scicciarella I'm with you. I do the same thing in the morning before I leave for work. Not deadhead for lack of time. I take notice what needs to be done when I get home again. I live in my garden all season. I would bring a bed out if it wasn't for my neighbors wondering about my state of mind, and the bugs. I love the fresh morning scent and the coolness before the sun raises the temperature.

Nancy I'm surprised that the pots aren't larger than 16". Didn't know that trees would grow in that size pots.

By the way, I lived for years in NY, raised on Long Island (Douglaston), have lived in Astoria, Flushing, then moved to Massachusetts. From there to Nebraska during the recession in the 70's. My kids live in Wyoming so moved here after I divorced.

So much easier to have a garden back East. Here, it is a struggle due to low rainfall, wind and heat with low humidity. It is also a zone colder. Still, I garden and just adjusted my plant selection to those that will grow here.

Nancy, I think you can tell the true plant lovers by how well they do with deadheaded. I'm a nurse and work nights and just can't wait to come home in the mornings and deadhead my Iris or daylilies. Often I do it before ever going into the house while I'm still in my uniform. I just feel such a need to see each plant close up, clean up the dead blooms and see what's going to open that day. Those few minutes in the garden are just so relaxing. Your small garden looks like just the perfect place to unwind and relax. Nice that you are also close to your Mom and her garden.

Susan

when I have a big job to do in the garden I usually do it when I get really frustrated about something that I cant change by the time I am done I have accepted the facts and I am at peace with it and the job is done perfectly

it always works so it looks like I will have lots of frustrations this year lol sinc some of what needs to be done is not what I prefer, I hate clearing for new beds since it always means my back going out and lots of pain but we have to attack the undergrowth if we ever want to have it under control and it needs to be done before the bugs come out since they eat DH alive bite by bite hahahah

blomma - I need to repot the trees into larger pots. That's going to be a job & a half!
My favorite time is in the morning. Coffee, newspaper, birds chirping - it doesn't get much better than that. Late afternoon/evenings are nice - unless the mosquitoes are out. UGH!

When I was working, I had to do my gardening duties between 5-7PM during the week and on weekends. It's SO much better now that I'm retired. I'm sometimes out there all day.

I had to chuckle at your comment:

Lovely, Nancy... what joy you give to your neighbors!