Fall Dividing All Gold Hakonechloa Forest Grasses - November 2023

The star of our garden are the All Gold Hakonechloa Japanese Forest Grasses.  I have two colonies of them - one in front and one in back.  I have a dozen places where I could use more, but they are always very expensive and rarely go on sale.  So...I thought they might be a good candidate for Fall Division.  

I selected one to test this Fall - in the front IB2DWs bed.  And only chose one because I haven't divided these before.  They've been really hard to get established, so I didn't want to put too many of them at risk.  But...if this works this year, I'll divide a few in the Spring and then even more come Fall 2024.

Here's the before - I was targeting the largest one in the back.

And, here's the after -below.  My process for this was to first tie-up the grass blades, so I could get a good shot at digging out the clump.  Below is the grass all tied-up.

I opted to divide it FIRST into half.  Then, I took one of the halves and divided that again.  Leaving me with three plants - one larger one, two smaller ones.   Here, below, is one of the halves:

I have a section of the border that is full of Hostas.  Hostas that I once loved, but now find a lot less interesting.  I dug a couple of them out and stuck the two smaller All Gold Forest Grasses in the border.  This will be a spot where I could use some bright foliage:

And here's the other half - that I put back in the original location - below:

That is a +2 in 'free plants'.  

I'm posting this in November 2023, but I did this dividing and transplanting in mid-October 2023.

My 2023 Fall Planting List - so far - includes a number of new and divided plants.  

Now up to 49 new plants.  And 8 new via division.  57 total for 2023 #FallPlanting.  21 of them are groundcover plants.  Five sedums.

• Five divided Everillo Sedges - Carex Everillo - from one sedge with Center rot in the backyard.
• A Sempervivum ‘Hopewell’ - a succulent-looking Chicks and Hens planted down by the sidewalk - IB2DWs. 
• Two Sedum spurium 'Voodoo' - IB2DWs - to attempt to outcompete the Creeping Jenny.
• Split three Elijah Blue Fescue clumps into six - IB2DWs along the driveway.
• A single Burgundy Glow Ajuga along the driveway IB2DWs.  Lots of groundcover IB2DWs, this Fall.
• Eight Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' planted - five in the island bed.  Three along south front porch bed border. 
• A Cardoon - IB2DWs - that I'm not sure is going to make it.  I'm going to mulch it in VERY heavily this Winter. 
• Two Silver Mound Artemisias planted IB2DWs - close to the current planted bed. 
• A dwarf, fern-like shrub:  Matcha Ball Ash Leaf Spirea planted in the front porch bed. 
• Three Pentsemon 'Midnight Masquerade' dark foliage perennials planted in the new/extended IB2DWs bed.  
• Two Stachys monieri 'Hummelo' plants, in the front yard by the Sweetspire. 
• Three Greenlee Moor Grasses - Sesleria Greenlee Hybrid in front of the Sweetspire shrubs in front.
• A dwarf conifer: Baby Blue Spruce - planted IB2DWs extended down by the sidewalk.
• Two John Creech Sedums - planted by the Little Henry Sweetspires.  Hoping to cover and outcompete the weeds that creep up in this border. 
• Three Ruby Muhlygrasses - Planted at the end of the boardwalk in back.
• A #1 Bird's Nest Spruce planted IB2DWs by the Nepeta Cat's Pajamas, near the driveway.
• A ball-and-burlap Weeping Norway Spruce in the middle of the established IB2DWs bed.
• A second Norway Weeping Spruce Tree - IB2DWs in the new 'Conifer Garden'.  
• A narrow, upright conifer tree - Montrose Charm White Spruce in the 'Conifer Garden' IB2DWs.
• The 2nd Baby Blue Spruce tree planted IB2DWs in the new 'Conifer Garden' closer to the Bald Cypress. 
• A 3rd Baby Blue Spruce tree planted in back by the Lindens - viewable from the Kitchen.
• I'm calling it a tree (not a shrub) - a Royal Purple Smoke Tree planted IB2Dws.
• A true dwarf - Golden Mop False Cypress - planted IB2DWs in the Conifer Garden.
• One of Two Blue Star Junipers - Planted in back stoop north bed with Spring Grove Ginkgo.
• The second Blue Star Juniper that is planted by the Disneyland Roses on the south side.
• The second (new) Bird's Nest Spruce planted in the new Conifer Garden IB2DWs.
• Three small Green Velvet Boxwoods planted in between the espalier'd Dogwoods along the garage.
• Three small Japanese 'Soft Touch' Holly shrubs planted back by the Weeping Nootka Cypress bed.
• Three new (five total) Allium Serendipity via Division - planted IB2DWs and in the new Conifer Garden
• Two new All Gold Hakonechloa Japanese Forest Grasses via division from IB2DWs to back border.