Today I was out in the yard moving and dividing perennials. I bought several new tools in the winter, and had been eager to use them. So today, I dug up a
Lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis), (not that it was huge and needed dividing, but I just really like this plant and wanted more of it):
After digging the whole plant up so I can see the rootball and crown of leaves, I used my new Giros perennial dividing knife to
cut the whole thing in half, like a pork roast:
The
Giros knife cuts through tough roots with ease. This seems a whole lot slicker than punching through plants with the blunt end of the spade or trying to pry them into pieces with your fingers. I also used the knife to to divide a huge clump of asters. In that case, I didn't dig up the whole plant. Instead, I just cut off a quarter of the plant and then dug that part up. It came out easily because the roots were separated from the rest of the plant.
And then there were two!
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2 comments:
That looks like a great gardening tool. I need to divide my lady's mantle as well, so hopefully I will be able to do it with the ease you did.
I'll be looking into getting myself a gardening knife now. I used a kitchen knife when I divided my irises. I think it's time for a proper tool, though. Thanks for the reminder -- and demonstration!
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