How to Divide a Hydrangea Bush

Wear heavy-duty work gloves to divide a hydrangea bush. Unless you are accustomed to handling garden tools, you may develop blisters on your hands.

Wait until early spring to divide your hydrangea bush to give the divisions the best chance of surviving. Trimming back an older plant or transplanting the divisions at this time of year helps the plant develop a robust root system.

Insert a spade or garden fork straight down into the ground just at the perimeter of the hydrangea bush and push it in with your foot. Make a similar insertion next to the first one. Work your way around the bush in this manner until you have cut a circle around the base of the plant.

Insert the spade or fork into one of the cuts and force it under the root ball. Hydrangea roots do not grow much deeper than the length of your spade or fork. Forcing the garden implement under the roots loosens the entire plant.

Remove the tool and force it under the plant again at small intervals around the plant. Push down on the handle of the tool to force the root ball out of the ground. When the root ball is mostly free, lift the plant by the lower stems out of the ground. Shake as much soil off the root ball as you can.

Insert the spade or garden fork in the middle of the plant and cut it in half. If the plant is old, this may take some effort. Inserting two spades or forks back to back and using them as levers against each other may be necessary for larger root balls. If it is very large, cut the root ball in half with a saw.

Replace part of the hydrangea bush immediately back into its original location and fill the empty part of the hole with soil. Plant the other part of the bush in another location right away in a hole of the same depth. Tamp the soil firmly around the divided bushes and water in well.