It would depend on the individual plant. I do it when it looks like it needs to be divided, or I'm planting a mass of something that I know is going to fill in rapidly.

I just bought two 4" pots of false agave ($2 each at Lowes) that each had pups all around them. Potted all of them up separately and now I've got 9 plants. What a deal!

Have done it many times, it's not a problem. Can use a shovel or a knife/pruner to slice through roots. Just don't do it with plants that have a taproot (e.g. balloon flower) for obvious reasons. Treat the division same way you would treat any other division, they need TLC for a time.

I didn't mean pruner, I meant pruning saw.

Well I intend to give them TLC so I think I'm going to give it shot.

Dropping $90 vs. $180 is much more easy on the budget.

how many fans on the daylily?

I don't have them yet, but when I ordered #1 gal. cnt. daylilies last year from this nursery I'd say anywhere between 8-15.

Is there a certain amount you would not recommend dividing?

If you order/purchase daylilies from someone who deals mainly with daylilies, 2 fans is the usual purchase. I wouldn't hack at the roots since these have been potted. Get a tub of water and gently loosen the roots from each other. Single fans would survive but could take years to produce bloom. I would put at least two together.

it depends on size of pot and root system.

yes 2-3 fans for daylilies is minimum. If you plant it in really great soil, it will be ready for more dividing in a couple of years. Some daylilies are more vigorous than others too so it may take longer for some. Not familiar with Awesome Blossom.

At the end of the season it is usually easy to find big 2 gallon pots of perennials overcrowded and screaming for division.

Geraniums and daylilies can be divided any time of year.

whether you get them now.. or later...

i dont recommend division in AUGUST ....

just wait until the second or third week of sept ....

ken

Yes I've done this. Occasionally by dividing the plant itself. Sometimes plants in large pots have actually been 3 smaller plants bunched together by the nursery into the bigger pot. I separate out these smaller plants to create a mass, and they usually fill in pretty nicely, even the first season.

Some plants will fill in more quickly than others, but you can always plant a few annuals in the empty spaces while you're waiting for perennials to reach mature size.

I've done it with Hosta. I have one that needs to be planted now that has a main plant and then two smaller plants off near the edge of the pot. I'll plant the main plant in the spot I chose for the plant and will then plant the babies in a holding area for a few years.

So what I'm hearing is that alot of people have divided perennials right out of the container with sucess? These will be gallon size just to reiterate.

Just do so in spring or fall.

It depends on the plant, and how big it is. Daylilies can be divided if there are enough fans.

Now once upon a time, I was given a daylily clump that consisted of a bunch of H. dumorterii and H. fulva all mixed up. Since that's why I was given it, I wasn't in a position to complain :-) However, the whole thing would be a lot more useful if they were separated. So one spring, I took the whole thing and divided it up fan by fan. It worked, and I got them separated, and they all seemed to make it. About ten years later, I have more clumps of them than any three people need....

Some geraniums spread by stolons, and any piece with leaves and roots is potentially viable. I don't grow Jolly Bee to know if it does this. Roxanne doesn't spread particularly well, and is a bit tricky to multiply. Again it's best done in spring.

I've done it with hostas and daylilies and others. When shopping at the nursery I choose the pots with the most crowns/eyes whatever in it on purpose so I can divide. A lot of times I split with a friend so we each pay half.

I have found potted daylilies at the garden center have a lot more fans than mail ordered ones do but there isn't anywhere near the selection of cultivars.

Well I definately have zero reservations on dividing the daylilly. It will have plenty of fans, plus they grow fast are very hardy.

I do question the Jolly Bee geranium (which has one of the same parents as Rozanne).

Should I split by hand? Should I use a pruning saw? Should I not split at all?

This is a high quality nursery, that sells the "roots" per say. They are one of the extremely extremely few that actual warranty their perrenials for 1 year.

Again there are all 1 gallon containers, so 1 gallon of roots that aren't root bound.

A common practice with me. I hunt through all the pots at the nurseries to get the one with multiple crowns and try to divide and plant in 2 or 3 different light/soil situations. Only if they do well do I buy more next year for a particular area. Just finished dividing a 1gal pulmonaria into 5 nice plants about 3 weeks ago. 4 are growing great but 1 in heaviest shade is not.

George

Well I'm getting my perrenials on Tuesday. Any last suggestions or "OMG, don't do that in fall!" before I divide a new Jolly Bee Geranium straight out of the container?

No need to overthink this - just do it, they'll be fine :0)

whaas, there are some considerations that only you can make here. Namely, what kind of soil are these divisions going into? If it's loose, moist, crumbly, fertile, this is all in your favor. If it's dry, hard, lumpy, etc., don't divide the geranium into it. You need to be sure to give the planted divisions a good mulch immediately after planting. If your weather conditions are even thinking about being dry, work your soil, remove the soil for planting, then WATER the hole thoroughly and let it soak in, then put the plant in the hole, backfill, mulch, and water thoroughly again. Irregardless, don't allow the soil around the plant to go bone dry. Monitor it carefully for a few days to get a feel for how often you need to supplement.

I do not grow Jolly Bee, but I have divided Rozanne several times. She never ever likes it, but I have never lost a division. She always wilts badly for several days, but gradually perks up and blooms, though late. I have always divided her in spring, and of course, my climate is much different from yours. My gut tells me you can get away with doing it this fall (even now) if you fulfill all the above criteria, but if you cannot risk losing it, you might want to plant Jolly Bee as is and divide it in the spring.

One more suggestion: If you go ahead and divide it now, it wouldn't hurt to put something over the divisions to provide some shade until they settle in. I have used cardboard boxes with the tops opened up with good results. Just a few days can make a big difference.