Preparing your perennials is key to maintaining a healthy landscape, as overcrowded plants can hinder growth and nutrient absorption.
By taking the time to assess your garden now, you can enhance the vitality of your plants and promote better blooming in the future.
This process not only revitalises your garden but also contributes to its overall aesthetic appeal.
With a little effort, you can create space for each plant to flourish and avoid competition for resources.
One vital gardening task to undertake before winter is dealing with overcrowded clumps of perennials after they have finished flowering.
Over time, these plants start competing for nutrients, water, and light, so dividing them allows each plant to thrive in its own space for the upcoming spring.
Leonardo and Domenico Musceo, gardening experts on local services marketplace, Airtasker, explained to Express.co.uk the importance of doing this now.
They said: “Lifting, dividing and replanting congested clumps of perennials after they finish flowering is a crucial gardening task ahead of autumn and winter.
“Overtime, perennials can become crowded, leading to competition for nutrients, water and light so dividing them gives each plant the space to thrive ready for next spring.”
The gardening pros continued: “To do this, use a garden fork or spade to carefully dig around the clump, carefully lifting it out of the ground with as much of the root system intact as possible.
“Then, gently shake off any excess soil to expose the roots and use a sharp knife, spade or simply your hands (if you don’t mind getting a bit dirty) to divide the clump into smaller sections. Each division should have several healthy shoots and a good amount of roots.
“Replant the divisions at the same depth they were growing before and make sure the roots are spread out in the planting hole.
“Finally, water them well to help establish the new plants and mulch around the base in order to retain moisture.”