Quick Tips to Get more Plants by Dividing Grasses

• The best time to divide grasses is when the roots are  active normally in spring.
• Grasses need dividing when the clump becomes large and congested. Those with longer growing seasons clump up faster.
• Deschampsia, Carex and Festuca that flower in early summer, start into growth in late winter so should be divided in early spring.
• Grasses from warmer climates that flower after mid summer such as Miscanthus, Panicum, Pennisetum and Cortaderia should be divided a little later in May.
• Evergreen grasses should only be divided in spring.
• Sedges and small grasses like Hakonechloa and Foxtail grass can be split by hand. Large clumps may need prising apart with two back to back forks. Large Miscanthus clumps may need a saw.
• Keep divisions well watered until they are established.
• Surplus can be passed on to friends or replanted – do not let the roots dry out.

The ideal time to divide clumps of  grasses is in the spring, but you may also divide them in Autumn.

Miscanthus in winter