'Janet',

It is recommended that named cultivars are divided in the spring,
although they are slow to recover as the rootstocks resent disturbance.

I would be inclined to experiment by digging around a plant sufficiently
to enable you to obtain a suitable part of it without disturbing the
parent plant.

Severely trim off the foliage of the 'cutting', pot it up and keep it
moist in a cool place, well out of the sun, until it can fend for
itself.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.




"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
Has anyone divided an aquilegia?

Most books I have seem to say that the plants grow from seed but never
mention dividing them yet their manner of growth look as if they could
be split apart.
I hesitate to do this without a sort of guarantee.

I have three really lovely variegated foliage aquilegias (vervaensis
group), they have pale blue flowers which are pretty but it is the
foliage that always looks so fresh and very pretty all year, that I
want
to keep.
I grew them from seed but I know they don't come true as I've never
got
a variegated plant from the seeds I've saved over the past few years.

I did split a Polemonium last year as that too had good variegated
foliage but even though every part had a good root ball they all
died............

janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk