Dividing Containerized Herbs in Fall

by Deltagardener

I am taking apart my containers and getting ready for winter. I was able to divide all my herbs and triple the number of plants I had.

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This is what I had once I finished dividing my herbs. One full flat and two one-gallon pots for next year.

I slid the whole clump of herbs out of its container on to a work table. Its a mix of sage, english thyme, lemon thyme, tarragon and oregano.

Gently tease apart each plant and loosen old soil off the roots. Next use an old kitchen knife or pruning saw to divide your plants. I happen to have a trowel with a serrated edge that works to divide plants.

Using the side of the trowel I successfully divided the thyme into three new plants. Pot them up using fresh potting soil into 4" or one gallon pots.

With lemon thyme I was able to remove soil from the roots and identify where to cut each new plant. Cut along the creeping root stem to get three new plants and pot them up being sure plants are at same soil level as they were before. As long as you can see roots the plant will grow.

More aggressive plants like oregano are best contained so I divided one plant into two and potted them into one-gallon pots. This is a tough plant but can take over and smother other plants when planted in the ground.

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Frequently asked questions

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2 questions

Psu6392071 on Oct 02, 2016
Where do you put all the plants during the winter months?

1
Psu6392071 on Oct 02, 2016
Where do you put the transplants during the winter months?

2