Now is the time to divide your snowdrops
February 10, 2010
It is always best to plant Snowdrops “in the green”, that is; when they are still in leaf and even flower. In the green is also the best time to divide congested clumps and replant around you garden.
To successfully divide your snowdrops:
- Using a garden fork or spade dig deeply around the clump to get below the bulbs
- Lever out the clump
- Using your hands tear the clumps apart into individual bulbs
- Remove the flowers to allow energy to go straight to the bulb
- Select six to eight bulbs for each new clump
- Make a hole with a hand trowel about 15cm deep
- Plant the clump so that the bulbs rest at the bottom of the hole
- Fill in around the bulbs leaving some leaf showing above the surface
- Don’t remove the leaves, just allow them to die down naturally to help form next year’s flowers
owdrops transplant well when they are in leaf and even in flower and the bulbs can also be divided at the same time – a method known as ‘in the green’. You can then replant new clumps of snowdrops in other places around the garden; it’s a simple way of making more of these beautiful flowers.
For more information on garden bulbs visit our Types of Plants – Bulbs, Corms and Rhizomes article.
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