How to divide Helenium autumnale

A favorite perennial for late summer color, Helenium autumnale is undemanding but very showy. In this article we will learn how to divide Helenium autumnale.

This robust, upright plant features a succession of yellow, orange or red flowers with orange-brown centers and irregular shades of dark orange.
They are excellent cut flowers and attract bees and other pollinating insects. Regularly cutting the flowers will encourage new blooms.

Helenium autumnale flowers

In the garden, they must be divided every three years to maintain vigor.

In this guide, we will demonstrate how to make multiple divisions from a plant that has grown for a year in a pot.
Although it is a small specimen, we selected this plant to be divided and demonstrate the process.

The Helenium autumnale to be divided

Prepare the soil

If you are replanting the divisions in the garden, prepare the soil by adding a little slow-release fertilizer, organic matter, or decomposed manure.
In this case, we will plant the small divisions in pot. We prepared a generic potting compost, with organic matter and coarse sand to improve drainage and prevent rotting.

Divide Helenium autumnale

We lift the plant from the pot, releasing the roots at the bottom that were already coming out through the drainage holes.

Loosen the soil from the roots

We loosen the soil from the roots to allow us to work more easily. The more roots each new plant has, the more likely it is to grow vigorously.

Several Heleniums ready to plant

In this case it was quite easy to loosen the roots of each division and separate each new plant. This is because the soil was quite loose and easy to handle.

Split each small plant

However, when we are dividing large plants that have been growing for 3 or 4 years in the garden, the task is not so easy. We need to use pitchforks and cutting tools to divide the plants.

Helenium autumnale division

Keep in mind that when dividing large plants to plant in the garden, you should separate them so that each division has several shoots. Here we are creating small plants, each of which has only one shoot, which will still grow in a nursery.