Slightly Used Plants

Another way to save on plant costs is to ''reuse" grown plants from your own garden, or those unwanted by others.

One of the best reasons to belong to a garden club, apart from the friendship, is that members give each other or sell cheaply perfectly good plants. Plant swaps or sales are standard among clubs and a great way to increase your plant collection. If you're not a member of a formal club, create the same opportunities simply by talking with others about your garden and theirs. Once people know you are a plant nut, they offer you all kinds of plant items.


Plants move around some people's yards more than the people. A shrub just doesn't prosper in a particular corner. A rose bush might clash with a climbing vine. It's actually a lot like moving furniture around until you create just the perfect setting in your outdoor room. Furniture doesn't suffer transplant shock, however. The first rule of thumb for digging up and relocating any plant is to wait until the plant is dormant. This causes the least possible amount of stress on the plant. Fall is usually the best time. For most perennials, dig down around the perimeter of the plant to create a rootball large enough to accommodate the plant. For shrubs and trees, a burlap wrap will help hold the rootball in place. Dig a trench around the perimeter of the plant branches, the dripline, and use a fork or spade to pull as much soil away from roots as possible to create a ball of soil. Tip the rootball up with the edge of a shovel, and shuffle the burlap underneath. Repeat around the plant, shifting the burlap until it encircles the roots. For heavy shrubs or trees, you may need to slide a board or two underneath the rootball to create enough leverage to move the plant. Lift the plant carefully and transport.

You can dig up plants routinely sold bare rootsuch as roses, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, and many shrubsand treat them the same way as a bare-root transplant . A younger plant has better chances of survival.

Bulbs, Corms, and Tubers

These are underground plant parts used to store energy for the coming year. Plants that grow from bulbs include common favorites, such as crocus, daffodil, narcissus, and tulips, as well as a range of others. They routinely develop offsets, smaller versions of themselves that you can separate from the parent.

Reap the bounty of tiny bulbs by lifting a clump with a fork and carefully pulling the bulblets free. Pot them and let grow for a year or two before planting outside. Some of the more common bulbs reproduce as follows:

Lilies form little bulbs along the length of the stem, which you can pluck and plant.

Gladiolus grow from corms, similar to underground bulbs, and you can separate them the same way.

Dahlias grow from large, fleshy tubers. In most parts of the country, you must dig them up every fall and bring them in from the cold. In the spring, as buds form, cut the tuber into sections. Make sure you include a couple of buds on each section.

Divide and Multiply

Dividing is a quick way to multiply your collection of perennials, succulents, and some suckering shrubs. Dividing yields two or more plants from one, and it is healthier for the original plant than being left to overcrowd itself.

The best time to divide most plants is from late fall to early spring. Avoid especially cold or wet periods as these make it tough for the divided plants to reestablish. Plants with fleshy roots, such as irises, peonies, and poppies, have a better chance of rooting if divided in late summer.

Begin by gently digging around the base of the plant to expose the perimeters of it. Then carefully lift the plant with a garden fork. Shake or brush off as much soil as possible so you can see what you are doing. Often with older plants, there will be a dead spot of brown stems in the center of the plant. Cut this out and divide the remaining growth. The simplest way to divide most plants is to grasp large sections by hand and gently, but firmly, pull them apart. Plants that can't be pulled apart can be cut through with a sharp spade. Make sure you leave a few buds on each division.

You can dust any cuts with a fungicide to curb infection. Cut back the tops and place the new plants in the ground at the same height they were growing before, and water.