Gardeners are a giving group, they’ll let you know the best way to rid yourself of a bad case of poison ivy, they’ll inform you of watering tips to avoid fungus on your roses, they’ll share their enlightened home grown compost mixture and really just about anything that has to do with gardening a grower of plants will happily espouse their expertise.  But the fastest way to a gardener’s heart is to sheepishly request some of their extra plants when thinning day comes. A flora growing enthusiast finds nothing more pleasurable than sharing in their unique, interesting, rare or just over-crowded bounty.  It is a fantastic way to spread the wealth, multiply your investment, and it is often the dose of TLC that an over-flowing bed of leafy goodness is longing for.

I have the privilege of being a welcome guest behind many of Lawrence fences and discovering first-hand the remarkable capacity gardener’s seem to resolutely want to share, to propagate their seeds and make Lawrence a more beautiful place.  Autumn is the ideal time to get those green-thumbs digging deep and separating plants. Where there was once only a parent plant, now there are two or three or more and whether those new plants are to beef up a bare area of your landscape or are headed across town to a friend’s yard, the art of dividing lush plants in the fall is a perfect way to spend a crisp morning and will guarantee you an invitation to the recipients next dinner party.

The Lawrence African Violet Club frequently shares new hybridized violets.  Della Hadley, a member, states, “Some of my favorite plants were given to me by friends and relatives.  I think most gardeners love to share their plants.  Right now I have dozens, perhaps hundreds, of daffodils that I dug from my flower beds because it was getting too crowded; now I just need to find someone to share them with that has the space.  I also have wonderful African Violets that have been bestowed down to me.”

There are quite a few gardening groups in Lawrence that have planned events in which to share in their copious amounts of the good earths good fortunes.  The Extension Master Gardeners regularly allocate plants among themselves and this September they will host The Fall Festival, a public plant sale at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.  Plymouth Church on Vermont Street has an annual plant sale in the spring from thinned-out congregation member’s flower beds; The Sunflower Water Gardeners have an annual plant swap and picnic in early May.  But, really the beauty of sharing plants need not be marked in the calendar as a scheduled event, it is how the giving of a thing of beauty brings splendor to the beneficiary and makes the givers calloused hands and achy back feel a little lighter.

Sylvia Rawlings, a Douglas County Extension Master Gardener, is overtly pleased when she has the chance to distribute, she says, “I enjoy sharing whatever is the most prolific plant that year with whoever comes by – usually coneflower, “Becky” white Shastas, day lilies, moss rose, porcelain berry vines, mint, sage, oregano, and lemon balm are the most often dispersed plants and I generally give them to family and neighbors.”

Autumn is a wonderful time to divide perennials because the cooler temperatures and added moisture tend to lessen the shock of the separation process.  Plus many perennials have gone through their “showy” stage and are ripe for the taking.  It is advisable to water the plants you are separating liberally a handful of hours before you partition them so their stems are fat with stored water.  When you do dig around a hosta, daylily, iris, thyme, or ornamental grasses, to name a few common and easy to divide plants, it is crucial to be cognizant of not severing their root structure.  Intact roots will fair much better than broken bits of roots.  When you have dug up the parent plant and used scissors or a sharp knife to separate it into smaller plants, re-plant the original back into the already dug hole and water liberally again.  Meanwhile place the separated off-shoots into a pot or many pots with loose soil and place them in a shady part of the garden, water them judiciously and let them sit a few days in the shade before planting them in a sunny area, this process will give the new plant a chance to acclimate before being thrown into the blazing sun.

Another way to share in nature’s bounty is by collecting seeds.  The finest way to do this is by mimicking nature, wait for the seed heads to turn brown on flower heads such as clematis, coneflower and sunflowers, this is when the plant would be self-sowing those seeds.  You are simply usurping that step and gathering the seeds to a controlled area, allow the seeds dry on newspaper or in the sun for a few days, place them in a jar or envelope and off to your friend’s houses you go with the genesis of a potentially lovely plant.

Lastly, you can also start flourishing plants through cuttings; it tends to have faster results than seeds.  Cuttings also ensure that the new plant will have the exact same characteristics as the parent plant, like the sex of the plant or if the plant sports variegated leaves or not.  Seeds do not ensure that the plant will be a copy of the original.  It is important to establish new roots as quickly as possible after severing from the parent plant, when working from a cutting, using a root stimulant mixed with some water can be helpful.  Let the cutting marinate in that concoction for a few days until you see roots at which time you can place the cutting in soil and water generously then voila you are ready to go door to door with some of Mother Nature’s finest.

When you are separating your mound of over grown flora and scratching your head as to what to do with all these beauties.  Steer clear of the trash can and remember those less fortunate who have black thumbs or thin pocket books and share, spread the horticulture around and let’s watch Lawrence come alive!