Still dividing or transplanting? (growing, bugs, vines, tomato)
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Now that the growing season is winding down are you going to transplant or divide anything in early October? I realize it depends on your location but here in Maine it is getting late. I still have a clump of Astillbe to get in and I may divide a hosta that is getting too large for the spot.
The celery was divided the day before yesterday and planted in the new raised bed garden. Soon as the rest of the garden area is filled with topsoil, the rest of the garden will be planted. Probably short vegetables like beets, beans, etc. The celery will make a nice windbreak since it's on the side of the house the wind comes from. The old tomato vines will be pruned back and replanted into the new garden area, too. There are a few bananas which need to be divided and spread out. They are the short Chinese banana which makes huge amounts of bananas so they are worth spreading around.
Pitt Chick - I was listening to a weekly garden program on the radio yesterday and he said it is fine to divide the hosta now for my area, so I am going to try it. The larger portion will be left where it is and about a third I will move. I think I have done this in the past with no ill effects.
Pitt Chick - I was listening to a weekly garden program on the radio yesterday and he said it is fine to divide the hosta now for my area, so I am going to try it.
No where did I say you couldn't.
I simply stated that I divide in the spring.
Does anyone know if Mexican Heather is a perennial in N.D. I have it in a pot, one of my many summer pots... beautiful little fairy like rose colored flowers...Sure would love to plant it while we have some nice weather.
Bangor has a little more leeway than the more interior parts of Maine because of the coastal effect. You appear to be more or less in a zone 5b area which means less intense freezing and slightly later frost dates than just a little further inland. My old garden was in a similar zone and I generally had all my transplanting done by October 10th. At best you have another week or two to accomplish any transplanting and that is assuming a "normal" winter. If that garden show was from someone living even closer to the ocean they will have even more breathing room so be very careful of "generalities" about "our" area.
Even the Hosta experts don't agree on "better" or "best" times for transplanting but generally both mid fall and early spring are the two best times to transplant Hosta (as well as many perennials). If done at the right time in fall the Hosta is able to still grow its roots and will have a good start for spring. Fall transplanting usually means the plant will be nice and round in the spring and able to deal with sudden warm weather or drought conditions a little better than a newly transplanted plant. Spring dividing, if done early enough works well, but doing it after the "best" window of time results in lopsided plants for much of the season as the eyes will have been set. I received some pieces as a gift from another gardener in very late spring (late spring here would feel like midsummer to you) and for that entire season the plants grew but looked more or less wedge shaped. The next spring they came up as nice round plants again.
Do what you think works best for your garden, not someone else's garden, 2 or 3 zones away. Some gardeners feel more like working in the fall when the bugs are less pesky and the air is a bit crisp and others are peppy and ready to tackle the world first thing in spring. There are a few plants that are very persnikity about timing but most will survive bad season choices in the long haul. Probably the dumbest times to do any transplanting or planting is winter (kinda hard if you have fully frozen ground ) and mid summer in the midst of a drought or heat wave.
If you go ahead and transplant now make sure it is watered in well. As soon as the leaves begin to die back mark the plant in some way and begin to mound a mulch over it. This will allow the soil to stay a bit warmer a bit longer and give the roots a chance to really develop. Next spring remove layers of mulch gradually (marking it helps you uncover the right spot but helps keeps weeds under control around the plant by keeping the rest of the soil under mulch). Gradual exposure reduces the chance of late frost damage to growing tips.
Good luck!
Edit: I saw the post on Mexican heather after I posted. Sorry Jan. ND is zones 3 and 4 for the most part and far too cold. I was in zone 5 in NY and treated them as an annual. I'm in zone 7 now and 4 out 5 of my plants from last year made it back after last winter which was unusually mild for here. Take cuttings and grow them inside if you can.
Now that the growing season is winding down are you going to transplant or divide anything in early October? I realize it depends on your location but here in Maine it is getting late. I still have a clump of Astillbe to get in and I may divide a hosta that is getting too large for the spot.
I will divide soon. September was too iffy, we hit the 100s and upper 90s. October should be great.
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) and mid summer in the midst of a drought or heat wave. 
