Dividing Scoliopus bigelovii

[Robin Hansen]

Help! I have this 8-inch or more clump of Scoliopus bigelovii and am trying to divide it. I've been gently tickling the roots and loosening the soil, have sprayed it with water  and am to the point where I have such a tangled mess of roots that my only solution seems to be to slice a half- to an inch off the bottom to give more access to separating the roots.

I wouldn't hesitate to slice the bottom off of other plants in this situation but these are thick fleshy roots. I divided Scoliopus hallii yesterday with little problem but it was a much smaller plant. It's also much slower growing and does not set seed the way S. bigelovii does.

In the process of working on S. bigelovii, I found about 16-20 seedlings (tiny - half to one-inch) and potted those on. Am I better off to not cut the bottom of the roots and pot into a bigger pot or? They are such slow little critters that the more seedlings and plants I can pot on, the better.

[illahe]

HI Robin, 

For what it's worth, I sometimes use a vitamin b plant shock reducer in a bucket of water when dividing matted roots of plants. I'll soak them in the solution for a few minutes and then try teasing them apart in the solution. I think it helps a bit with transplant shock. 

If you slice it you might consider applying a fungicide to the cut area, I used to use a product called actinovate to treat bulbs that I was slicing for propagation. It's not cheap as none of the new generation of biofungicide products are, but a little does go a long ways. 

I hope you get those going in quantity! You never see them for sale! I bought a gallon size plant for $20 this past year at California Flora nursery and am so happy to see it just emerging now. 

All the best, 

Mark

[Robin Hansen]

I have Halt (powder) and Immunox (liquid), both fungicides but have never used Vitamin B although I see references to it now and then and have for years.

Up until now, I've let the seeds alone in the pots of Scoliopus hoping for better luck germinating than I'd had on my own. However, many different seeds have germinated for me here in Coquille that never did before. I must have the right climate and the greenhouse, which is Lexan with proper screen doors and ventilation along the length and just under the eaves on the east side, is holding at 5-6 degrees warmer than the 18 to 23 every morning. I had potted up the S. bigelovii by the time your message came but will continue to divide every year.

I'm guessing your location is not too good for this plant as I recall trees more toward the back (west?) of your property and your much drier conditions. I will do my best. In the meantime, I hope you have Galanthus Theresa Stone. If not, let me know.

[janemcgary]

When dividing tangled roots, it helps to spray the mass with a hose nozzle, at the right pressure to exert some force without breaking them.

[Robin Hansen]

Oh, I sprayed and sprayed the root ball but you never saw such an overgrown tight mess of roots in your life. I left it too long in its pot to the point there wasn't a lot of soil.

If it had been a perennial of any kind with fine roots, I'd have taken a knife and sliced off the bottom half inch or so, slashed the sides, sprayed it again, then with a wing and a prayer sliced from the top in sections, making sure of enough buds in each section.

Not this mess, so I potted it up in a larger pot with the hope the roots will stretch out and go straighter and will attempt it again next winter. In the meantime, those tiny half-inch seedlings with a single root are starting to growing, so now I just hope to avoid killing them... If I had more than one large S bigelovii, I'd have sliced off the bottom and tried separating the roots but I only have the one large plant.