Is it too late to seperate this onion and leek plant? if not, how would be the best way to do it?

[SamJ]

 

These onion and leek plants were planted in clumps rather than divided and planted individually. I’m hoping that I can save them and seperate them, but was wondering if it was too late for them. If it isn’t too late, how would be the best way to seperate them with more of a chance of them surviving? 

[Jason]

Hi @SamJ,

I would doubt that it's too late as you can re-plant spring onions after using most of them and they grow again! 

Let me tag a few green thumbs to see if they would like to share their thoughts: 

@Noelle, @bergs, @Grub80, @mich1972 

Jason

[MitchellMc]

Hi @SamJ,

I apologise for the delay in my reply.

I don't think it is too late to separate them but you might need to tease the roots apart gently. I would dig around the clump taking it and a decent amount of soil out of the ground. Make sure not to sever roots while you are doing this. Lay the clump on a table and gently tease apart the roots which no doubt have tried to bind together. 

Personally, I like to submerge the rootball in some water and softly agitate it under the surface. The soil should start to dislodge and fall away. Once it has you can start sorting out the mess of roots. I find a chopstick comes in handy for this.

The other thing that might be worth considering is whether you need to separate them. Obviously, it would be better if they were separate but they look quite healthy at the moment and you should still get a decent crop of both.

I planted my onions (brown, white, red) in clumps like this without thinking about it. I have a similar issue but I think I'll just let them go and see what happens. Most likely I'll get a whole heap of deformed onions.

Please let me know if you need further information or had questions.

Mitchell