Dividing a Fern

Last week my husband and I went to Lowe's for plants for our goldfish pond.  I cannot resist checking out the clearanced plants.  Four carts were full of Boston ferns priced at $4 each.  A couple of years ago I lost all of my ferns to the cold.  This was a good price for a fern, and I knew that I would divide it to get more for my money.

I use a large knife to cut the fern into pieces.  I have one that I keep in the greenhouse for use in the garden.

While the fern was not as root bound as I expected, it was fine to be divided.  I chose to split this one into three pieces.  I simply made cuts to get through the roots and then tore the plant into pieces.

I put one piece back into the original hanging basket.  The other two went into large pots that I already had.  I reused potting soil mixed in with compost from our yard.  I ended up with three nice sized ferns that will fill in over the next couple of months.