One technique the budget-minded gardener must master is dividing: breaking up one plant to make many new ones. For a relatively low risk the return can be phenomenal. Huecheras are a good example. Most of the trendy cultivars, such as Lime Rickey and Green Spice, sell for up to $15.00 for a 6-inch pot. And for the best effect at least 3 Huecheras should be planted together. Ouch -- that adds up. Instead, buy one and wait a year or two, then divide it. That $15.00 plant may yield up to 6 new plants. That's a savings of $75.00! Division is not without challenge and risk, however. The challenge is mostly emotional. The thought of digging up and slicing apart a perfectly healthy plant may cause fear or even guilt for more sensitive gardeners. Dividing can also be physically challenging when "gently tease apart clumps" becomes "dig fingers into root ball and rip apart." Ideally the root ball in question should be soaked in a bucket of water for a few hours to loosen the soil, which can then be rinsed off to reveal exactly where the "crowns" (or clumps) can be separated. The risk is killing one or more of the divisions due to insufficient roots or just simple trauma. So instead of gaining more plants we have fewer.

To decrease the risk: Divide on a cloudy day; Divide only healthy plants unstressed by drought or diseases; Divide spring bloomers in the fall and fall bloomers in the spring.

Some plants, like Hellebores and Peonies, protest division by withholding flowers for one to three years. But both Hellebores and Peonies are typically expensive, so the return may be worth it in the end. Certain plants cannot be divided. Anything with a woody trunk, such as lavender or Clematis, must be propagated by other methods, such as layering or soft wood cuttings.

I recently gathered the courage to attempt dividing my Hellebores for the first time. I only had the nerve to divide one of my five Heronswood Hellebores (for those not in the know, Heronswood = rare and spendy!) that I've acquired over the years. The weather didn't cooperate! The day started off cloudy, but cleared and stayed clear all week; in February that meant cold and dry, the opposite of ideal conditions. I sliced out two wedges, representing less than half of the entire plant. I figured that if they died or didn't flower for two years at least the main clump would probably be ok. I misted the leaves with water as often as I could, typically twice a day. Three weeks have passed, and I think they made it without casualties. I'll try another one next year.

It's safe to prune the roses now. After one balmy Sunday in early February, I was tempted to prune the roses, but that little voice of conventional wisdom whispered in my head: "Don't prune roses until March because if we get a late frost all the new growth will get burned!" Well my roses were positively bursting with new growth, but sure enough a hard freeze descended the next week and wilted most of those tender new shoots. I'm glad I waited to prune in March.

The cutworm update: the cutworms apparently had a population crash. Just like the tent caterpillars, the cutworm population ebbs and flows. They're still out there, on my primroses especially, but I'm only finding a couple per week as opposed to 20 per night like last winter.

Tracy Mehlin is a librarian at the Elisabeth C. Miller Library at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens. Do you have a question for Tracy? Email her at gaiagardens@excite.com