Perennial Gardening - How To Divide Perennial Plants

On the other side of the coin, some plants, like geraniums and Jacob's Ladder, are simply quick spreaders and their root systems are quite easy to dig an separate. In this case you do not need to lift the entire plant.

This Jacob's Ladder has out grown its space and a portion near the border edge is being chopped with a shovel and lifted. You will still want to pre-water your plant and take as much of the root ball and soil as possible, but you do not need to dig and disturb the hole plant to reduce its size.

Sometimes you just want to chop a piece of a plant off to give to a visiting friend. This method should serve you well then.